This bat roosts in caves, mines and in some cases in abandoned buildings and tunnels, often in colonies of several thousand. It emerges about an hour after sunset to feed on cactus fruit, nectar and pollen of plants in several families (Agavaceae, Cactaceae, Bombacaceae; Fleming and Nassar 2002). It lands on the flowers or may hover for short periods to feed. Night roosts, including buildings, are used after feeding (Reid 1997). It is associated with thorn scrubs, spiny forests and dry forests, and is highly dependent on columnar cacti and agaves (Fleming and Nassar 2002, Nassar et al. 2003). The ecosystem is restricted, fragmented throughout its range, and mostly outside protected areas in all countries. This species is "keystone" in its ecosystem as a long-distance pollinator and seed disperser of agave and columnar cacti (and other plants associated with the habitat type). Direct and indirect evidence indicate that this species is migratory, however, not all subpopulations migrate annually (Simal et al. 2015), and colonies are sexually separated. It breeds on islands and the Paraguana Peninsula (Venezuela) and restricted to a low number of specific breeding caves. It as a unique sexual behaviour among bats, consisting in female choice mediated by an odoriferous dorsal patch present in males during the breeding season (November-December; Nassar et al. 2008, Muñoz-Romo et al. 2011).

This species occurs in dry areas in northeast Colombia, north and western Venezuela, Margarita Island, Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba (Netherlands Antilles; Simmons 2005).

This species needs conservation of maternity caves and its habitat type across all countries of occurrence. It occurs in protected areas but the habitat is mainly outside of these.