Agave Nectar and Bat Populations

Victoria J. Deleted

Does anyone know about the effect that harvesting agave nectar has on wild bat populations who rely on agave nectar as their sole food source? I know some companies boast that they use “castrated” agave, which means the plants don’t flower (and offer their nectar in the only form bats can access), but they produce much higher yields of nectar. I tried contacting two companies about it; one has yet to reply and the other’s email bounced back…worrisome.

Victoria J. Deleted

This was the reply from one company when I asked if they used castrated plants:

All agave comes from Mexico.As for castrated plants That’s totally outside our knowledge of the process. With kindness and good wishes,

Living Tree Community Foods

Totally outside their knowledge? Sorry to jump on a soapbox, but how can a company (from Berkeley, no less) call themselves something like Living Tree and not have any knowledge about the plants they’re harvesting from or the impact they may have on important pollinators like bats? Should I move this thread to a more appropriate forum?