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Mars Base

Pitcher plant uses power of the rain to trap prey (w/ Video) - 0 views

phys.org/...012-06-pitcher-power-prey.html

scibyte51 PitcherPlant

shared by Mars Base on 14 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • During heavy rain, the lid of
  • pitchers acts like a springboard, catapulting insects that seek shelter on its underside directly into the fluid-filled pitcher
  • Pitcher plants (Nepenthes) rely on insects as a source of nutrients, enabling them to colonise nutrient-poor habitats where other plants struggle to grow
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Prey is captured in specialised pitcher-shaped leaves with slippery surfaces on the upper rim and inner wall
  • If an insect tries to walk on the wet surface, its adhesive pads (the 'soles' of its feet) are prevented from making contact with the surface and instead slip
  • similar to the 'aquaplaning' effect of a car tire on a wet road.
  • scientists simulated 'rain' with a hospital drip and recorded its effect on a captive colony of ants that was foraging on the nectar under the lid
  • ants were safe before and directly after the 'rain', but when the drip was switched on about 40% of the ants got trapped.
  • Further research revealed that the lower lid surface of the N. gracilis pitcher is covered with highly specialised wax crystals
  • structure seems to provide just the right level of slipperiness to enable insects to walk on the surface under 'calm' conditions but lose their footing when the lid is disturbed (in most cases, by rain drops).
  • scientists also found that the lid of N. gracilis secretes larger amounts of attractive nectar than that of other pitcher plants, presumably to take advantage of this unique mechanism
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