Lesser Long-nosed Bats: Nectar-powered Bat Math! Counting the
Calories in Cactus Contributed by Ginny Dalton, Bat Biologist
Merlin D. Tuttle,BCI ever wonder: How much energy does it take
to operate a bat? How many flowers must a bat visit to stay
alive? Get ready to count the calories in a cactus flower! After
reading this page, you'll know everything necessary to answer
these questions: - How many saguaro flowers does a bat have to
visit to sustain it for one day? - For how many minutes does a
bat have to forage to get the nectar it needs - How many saguaro
plants do you think would be needed to feed a maternity colony
of 10,000 Leptos? is the minimum number of hectares of land
required to feed a bat colony containing 10,000 Much Energy to
Operate a Bat? Let's look at how much energy is required by an
adult Lepto. Here's an animal with a big energy demand for its
size! (Now, nobody has ever measured this exactly for Leptos,
but we can use information about other bats and extend the
results logically.) It tak