22 



L whiista: Pollen, nectar, fmit and insects (Gardner 1977). Wille (1954) considered L. 

 robusta as a nectar feeding bat, though stomach analysis of 17 specimens from Costa Rica 

 and Panama by Fleming et al. (1972) revealed 90% insect renmants (nnfortimately, only 

 one analysis was usable at all). Howell & Burch (1974) failed to detect any plant material 

 in tliree specimens of L. robusta from Costa Rica, instead they found renmants of 

 Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Streblidae (= ectoparasites on bats). 



Platalina: The diet of P. genovensiiim is imknown; it probably consists of pollen, nectar 

 and insects (Gardner 1977). 



BrachyphyJkr. B. nana consumes fruit, pollen, nectar and insects (Gardner 1977; 

 Swanepoel & Genoways 1983). Stomach contents of 43 specimens from Cuba consisted 

 of partly digested pollen grains. One stomach contained butterfly scales, another one 

 fragments of a fly (Silva Taboada & Pine 1969). Furthemiore, these authors regularly 

 found individuals whose head, breast and shoulders were powdered with pollen. 

 Consequently, Silva Taboada & Pine (1969) classified B. nana as chiefly pollen feeders, 

 probably addmg soft fruit and nectar to their diet. 



According to Gardner (1977), B. cavernarum feeds on fruit and msects, the fruit 

 predominantly being taken from Manilkara zapota (Nellis 1971), papaya {Carica papaya), 

 mango {Mangifera indica), almond {TenninaUa catappa), royal palm {Roystonea 

 boringuena) and Cordia sp. (Nellis & Ehle 1977). Tliese authors also reported on captive 

 individuals which took bananas, apples, pears, peaches and melons - but never citrus fruit 

 - apart from the blossoms of Ceiba pentandra, Tliespesia populnea, royal palm and 

 Hymenaea courbaril. During field observations, Nellis & Ehle (1977) failed to distmguish 

 between pohen and nectar intake, but most of the faeces beneatli their roosts contained 

 pollen (Swanepoel & Genoways 1983). 



Erophylkr. E. sezekorni takes various fruit, pollen, nectar and insects (Gardner 1977). The 

 earliest descriptions on food intake of tliis species date from the second half of the 19th 

 century (Osborn 1865): fruit of Cordia collococca, whose soft parts are hcked up. Hah & 

 Kelson (1959) called this species "Buffy Fruit Bat". Silva Taboada & Pine (1969) 

 analyzed the stomach contents of 30 E. sezekorni from Cuba: in all individuals they found 

 partly digested pollen grains. Three of them contained seeds of Hohenbergia 

 (Bromelia ceae); in four specimens they detected hisect renmants, including parts of an 

 elaterid beetle {Conoderus, Elateridae), of a cockroach (Blattidae, Orthoptera) and various 

 undetermined Diptera and Lepidoptera. 



Hall & Kelson (1959) called E. bombifrons "Brown flower bat""; Tamsitt & Valdivieso 

 (1970), however, reported this species as frugivorous (Gardner 1977). 

 PhyUonycteris: P. poeyi probably feeds on a variety of fruit, pollen, nectar and insects 

 (Gardner 1977). With respect to the tongue anatomy, Allen (1942) supposed P. poeyi to 

 eat pulp, fruit juice, pollen and nectar. Silva Taboada & Pine (1969) analyzed the stomach 

 contents of 42 individuals from Cuba and found partly digested pollen masses. Only one 

 stomach contained lepidopteran scales. 



Glossophaga: Presumably due to its conspicuously elongate tongue, G. soricina formerly 

 was considered a blood feeder. Later it was supposed to eats insects, until Goodwin & 

 Greenhall (1961) revealed that it feeds on nectar, soft fruit and possibly on seeds (Husson 

 1962). Gardner's (1977) substantial inforaiation on the diet of this genus did not only 

 mention nectar, flower parts (blossom constituents) and fruit, but also insects. In captivity 

 (large flight cages) Glossophaga hunted and ate insects deliberately; aiid insects were also 

 the favourite food of captive individuals having been kept for 14 months in El Salvador, 



