Without Bats, There Is No Tequila | Bat Removal Experts
Without Bats, There Is No Tequila
Some of you may have heard that bats make tequila production possible, but you may not know whether to believe such a claim or not. While it is true that Mexican bats are responsible for tequila production, you may not know exactly why that is. Not only does tequila only come from Mexico, but only regions located within Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas can grow the agave necessary to make agave tequila. So if you like tequila, then you should like bats too, at least agave bats.
In Mexico bats will fly to various agave plants and drink the agave nectar located within these plants. During this process the bats will spread agave seeds about the land, successfully pollinating the agave seeds. This process occurs naturally, with no human interference.
Bats often fly from plant to plant, thus promoting the genetic diversity of each generation. However, humans do not need to rely solely on bats in order to make tequila from agave. For example, in the absence of bats, many entrepreneurs will resort to “monocropping.” Monocropping occurs when farmers plant a single agave plant before it blooms. Then, once the leaves of the agave plant grow, they will be picked and replanted in order to make new agave plants. The problem with this method is the lack of genetic diversity from generation to generation. This lack of change in genetic diversity also makes these agave plants more likely to die from disease. Monocropping also decreases the bat population since, obviously, bats no longer have any agave to feed on, so they relocated. Once the pollinating bats are gone, farmers will then rely entirely on the practice of monocropping. During the 1990s, Mexico experienced a tequila shortage because of an over reliance of monocropping. Since no bats were being used for pollination, the crops eventually became diseased after several generations, and then they died out.
Do you know of any other type of plant that bats have been known to pollinate?