Project Overview
The lesser-long nosed bat, Leptonycteris yerbabuenae, travels north from Mexico to Arizona each summer on a journey that can cover almost 1,000 miles. On this journey, the bats rely on nectar and pollen from agave and columnar cacti. These are also critical food sources for the bats when they arrive at their maternity roosts in Southern Arizona.
The endangered Mexican long-nosed bat, Leptonycteris nivalis, follows a similar long-distance migration from central Mexico to their maternity roosts in Texas and New Mexico, relying on agaves as their sole nectar source in these northern areas.
The US Fish & Wildlife Service, in partnership with the USA National Phenology Network, is seeking to better understand where and when nectar sources are available for these bats while they are in the northern portion of their range raising their young. This campaign also supports the efforts of Bat Conservation International to collect data on flowering phenology of Agave havardiana and Agave parryi neomexicana in West Texas, which will guide agave restoration efforts in the area.
You can help us document flowering of agave and columnar cacti during the spring and summer flowering periods. This information will be used by the USFWS to conserve and promote habitat for lesser long-nosed bats.
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Agave Identification:
Agaves can be tricky to identify. Pay attention to the length and width of the leaves, the color of the leaves, and the overall size of the plant. If you see an agave blooming, you can consider it to be full size.
Agave palmeri leaf color ranges from pale green to dusty-colored light green, gray-green, or bluish green. Its leaf margins are straight, with small teeth regularly spaced along the margin with even smaller teeth often in between. It is a medium-sized to large-sized agave (3-4 feet tall) with leaves 3-4 inches wide and 14-29 inches long. Agave parryi leaves are gray-ish to light green or light blue-green in color. It has a compact, dense rosette. Its leaf margins are straight or can have a slight undulation. Its leaves are mostly flat with a barely concave top surface. It is a medium-sized agave (12-20 inches tall) with broad-ish leaves 3-5 inches wide and 10-16 inches long. Agave deserti leaves are dusty-colored gray or gray-blue to green. Its leaf margins are straight in most forms of this species, with small regularly spaced teeth. It freqnetly has banding on its leaves. It is a medium-sized agave (12-19 inches tall) with leaves 2-3 inches wide and 6-16 inches long. Agave havardiana has a glaucous-grey to grey-green color. Its succulent leaves are arranged in a rosette and are 2-4 ft. in height. The leaves are typically 15-28 in. long and 6-11 in. wide. The leaves will have teeth on their edges. Phenophase Photo Guide (coming soon) » Agave americana, is often gray to gray-blue but can be dark green or varigated. This species has significant amounts of horizontal striping on the backs of the leaves. It is a very large agave (6-10 feet tall) with very wide leaves 6-10 inches wide and 3-6.5 feet long. This species is commonly planted as an ornamental in yards around Tucson. |
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How to Participate
Join Nature's Notebook and select one or more cacti or agave to track. Observe flowering (and fruiting for cacti) ideally 2–3 times per week during spring, summer, and fall, and log your data in Nature's Notebook. Need help getting started? Take the Observer Certification Course.
Flowers for Bats Species
- American century plant (Agave americana)
- desert agave (Agave deserti)
- goldenflower century plant (Agave chrysantha)
- Havard's century plant (Agave havardiana)
- Mexican giant cactus (Pachycereus pringlei)
- organpipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi)
- Palmer's century plant (Agave palmeri)
- Parry's agave (Agave parryi)
- saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)
Top 10 Contributing Programs
Local Phenology Programs with the most observation records submitted this year.
| # | Program | Observations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McDowell Sonoran Conservancy Phenology Trails | 4,539 |
| 2 | Fort Huachuca Agave Flower Monitoring | 1,420 |
| 3 | LPL Network Group | 1,252 |
| 4 | Tohono Chul | 525 |
| 5 | Canada del Oro Riverfront Park Phenology Trail | 350 |
| 6 | Borderlands Restoration | 270 |
| 7 | West Lambert Lane Park | 215 |
| 8 | Tohono Chul Self-Guided Phenology Trail | 199 |
| 9 | James D. Kriegh Park Phenology Trail | 180 |
| 10 | Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge | 180 |
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