Pitcher plant uses falling rain to trap insects
We?re all quite familiar with carnivorous plants. Plants such as the venus flytrap feed on flies and other insects, providing an appetizing place for bugs to feed before snatching them up in their jaws and feeding on the remains. Now, scientists from Cambridge University have found that a similarly carnivorous plant employs the laws of physics to help it find its meals. Hailing from south-east Asia, ?Pitcher Plants? (or Nepenthes gracilis to those in the know) are able to use drops of water and gravity as a food delivery system. These pitcher plants look just as they sound: A large pitcher-like vessel with a single leaf just over the opening, hang from vines. Inside these pitchers is a dangerous liquid which dissolves the bodies of the insects. The ridges of these pitcher plants are large and slippery, but in case the ants and other insects are sure of foot, the plant has one more mode of attack: That single leaf. The underside of the leaf is coated in an attractive-yet-waxy sweet nectar which draws in ant
Pitcher plant uses falling rain to trap insects
Wed 13 Jun 12 from Discover Magazine
Pitcher plant uses falling rain to trap insects, Wed 13 Jun 12 from Discover Magazine
Video: Drip, Drip, Snatch!
When rain falls, insects plummet into the acid bath of pitcher plants
Wed 13 Jun 12 from Science Now
Pitcher plant uses power of the rain to trap prey (w/ Video)
During heavy rain, the lid of Nepenthes gracilis pitchers acts like a springboard, catapulting insects that seek shelter on its underside directly into the fluid-filled pitcher, new research ...
Wed 13 Jun 12 from Phys.org
When it rains, it feeds: The pitcher plant that uses the power of water droplets to catapult ants to their death
The bizarre feeding technique used by the pitcher was identified for the first time by scientists from Cambridge University, who found that ants and beetles would seek shelter in the plants.
Thu 14 Jun 12 from Daily Mail
Carnivorous Plant Catapults Ants
One species of ant-eating carnivorous plant has a special trick to flip insects.
Thu 14 Jun 12 from Discovery.com
Carnivorous Plant's Rain-Powered Catapult Flips Ants for Food
A drop of rain turns a pitcher plant lid from a safe zone into a death zone.
Wed 13 Jun 12 from Livescience
Pitcher plants use rain to trap insects
Carnivorous pitcher plants get an assist from Mother Nature in capturing their insect prey, according to a study published in PLoS ONE.
Fri 15 Jun 12 from Mongabay.com
This Plant Uses Raindrops To Catapult Food
We?re all quite familiar with carnivorous plants. Plants such as the venus flytrap feed on flies and other insects, providing an appetizing place for bugs to feed before snatching them up in ...
Fri 15 Jun 12 from RedOrbit
Video: Pitcher plant uses rain drops to capture prey
During heavy rain, the lid of Nepenthes gracilis pitchers acts like a springboard, catapulting insects that seek shelter on its underside directly into the fluid-filled pitcher, ...
Thu 14 Jun 12 from Labspaces.net
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