and New Mexico. However, they are only found as summer migrants in the United States and, more generally, north of the mid-Sonora, arriving in these regions between April and July, and migrating south again in September. Some individuals have been estimated to migrate as far as each year. Their migratory patterns have been shown to follow a path determined by seasonal availability of food plants, with cacti, Agave, and plants of the C3 metabolic pathway being strong predictors of distribution. They are found year-round in the western and southern parts of Mexico, and along the east coast, and in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. There are no recognised subspecies. Diet and behaviour Lesser long-nosed bats feed mainly on nectar from night-blooming plants such as saguaro, organ pipe cactus, as well as century plant and other agaves. They are important pollinators of night-blooming cactus. They may also eat some cactus fruits, and, during the winter, on pollen from a range of other plants as the opportunity arises. Lesser long-nosed bats roost during the day in large colonies of up to several thousand individuals in caves or abandoned mines, dispersing at night to feed. The size and composition of such colonies varies throughout the year, as the bats migrate to summer feeding grounds. At some times of the year, many colonies become occupied only by nursing females and their young, with males occupying smaller temporary roosts. Reproduction The breeding season lasts from November to December for bats that migrate northward during the summer, but from May to June in those that give birth in the south. Despite the presence of two distinct mating seasons, individual bats mate only once a year. Gestation lasts about six months, and results in the birth of a single pup, during the time of local peak flower availability. Newborn young weigh and are fully weaned at four to eight weeks of age. They are able fly after a month, but do not begin to exit the maternity cave for a further two to three weeks. They are known to live for up to at least eight years in the wild. References Species Profile at Bat Conservation International Threatened and Endangered Species fact sheets for Pima County, Arizona, at External links PBS Nature: A bat ecologist's efforts to save the "tequila bat" and its habitat Journey of the Nectar Bats Map, and Lesser Long-nosed Bat range Article: Signs