Bats as pollinators

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Tequila is having a field day right now; you can find artisanal brands with all sorts of hype about them. Tequila is made from certain agave plants, similar to the ones we call "century plants." They grow in a compact form, low to the ground until the bloom, sending up a huge flower stalk. Certain bats with long noses, as long as their bodies, sip the nectar from those flowers, then fly to other flowers and pollinate them. After blooming, the plants die. Some tequila producers don’t let the plants flower to increase the amount of pre-tequila plant portions they need for production. Those bats that have evolved with the agave plants to ensure cross-pollination and ensuring seed dispersal (bats don’t digest the seeds) are facing even more perils.