Home › Mammalia › Phyllostomidae › Lesser Long-nosed Bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae)

SPECIES PROFILE

Lesser Long-nosed Bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae)

Leptonycteris

IUCN STATUS

Least Concern

Lesser Long-nosed Bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) — Migrates from central Mexico through the Sonoran Desert to southern Arizona and New Mexico; follows the blooming progression of agave and cactus

CONSERVATION STATUS

Least Concern

CLASS

Mammalia

GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE

Migrates from central Mexico through the Sonoran Desert to southern Arizona and New Mexico; follows the blooming progression of agave and cactus

DIET

Nectarivore

HABITAT

Desert scrub and tropical dry forest with abundant agave and columnar cactus; roosts in large colonies in caves, mines, and buildings

🔬 Classification

PHYLUM

Chordata

CLASS

Mammalia

ORDER

Chiroptera

FAMILY

Phyllostomidae

GENUS

Leptonycteris

📋 Description

SIZE

7–9 cm body length; 18–30 g

COLORATION

Brownish-grey fur; long tapered snout adapted for nectar feeding; long extensible tongue with bristles; no tail

ADAPTATIONS

Long tongue (as long as its body) with brush-like tip for extracting nectar; essential pollinator of agave and saguaro cactus; migrates with nectar sources

🌿 Ecology

HABITAT

Desert scrub and tropical dry forest with abundant agave and columnar cactus; roosts in large colonies in caves, mines, and buildings

DIET

Nectarivore

GEOGRAPHIC RANGE

Migrates from central Mexico through the Sonoran Desert to southern Arizona and New Mexico; follows the blooming progression of agave and cactus

REPRODUCTION

Single pup born June to July in a maternity cave colony; pup flies within a month; females return to the same maternity caves each year

DIET DETAILS

Nectar and pollen from agave, saguaro cactus, and organ pipe cactus; critical pollinator of blue agave used for tequila production

⚠️ Threats & Conservation

PRIMARY THREATS

White-nose syndrome (fungal disease); disturbance of roost caves; loss of agave plants from over-harvest for tequila production; pesticide use near foraging areas

💡 Interesting Facts

1

The Lesser Long-nosed Bat is the primary pollinator of blue agave — the plant used to make tequila; without this bat, the agave would struggle to reproduce sexually.

2

These bats fly hundreds of kilometres through Mexico following the sequential northward blooming of agave and cactus flowers — a nectar corridor that mirrors the monarch butterfly's milkweed corridor.

🔭 Sighting Guide

📍 BEST PLACES TO SIGHT

Sonoran Desert agave fields near Hermosillo, Sonora, are foraging areas for Lesser Long-nosed Bats during spring migration

Cueva de la Boca near Monterrey, Nuevo León, is a major bat roost cave with millions of bats including Lesser Long-nosed

Biosphere Reserve El Pinacate near Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, has Lesser Long-nosed Bats foraging on organ pipe cactus

🗓️ BEST TIME TO SIGHT

May to September in Sonoran Desert areas of northern Mexico; Cueva de la Boca near Monterrey and Sonoran agave fields at dusk are reliable.

🎯 SIGHTING TIPS

Summer. Migrates north through Mexico in spring following the flowering of agave and columnar cacti; roosts in caves in Sonora and Chihuahua.