Unseen Heroes of the Sonoran Desert

As a young woman, I spent years in the awe-inspiring Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona. I have never been anywhere else with such a rich diversity of life so specially adapted to live in the harshest of conditions. The cacti there are all shapes and sizes, and the most recognizable is the monumental saguaro, which grows nowhere else in the world. Yet the saguaros flourish only as part of a complex ecosystem that relies on resident pollinators. Key among them is the lesser long-nosed bat, for whom saguaro nectar is a key food source and whose fur is ideally suited to picking up and transferring pollen. As you walk through the desert in bloom, remember the unsung nocturnal heroes.