RHH's photos with the keyword: insectivorous

This is the third of the introduced pitcher plants we found in the "little bog of horrors." This plant, though not as showy as the other two was found growing in huge clumps and had recently been in flower. In a previous posting of a picture of these plants, I wrote: "Yesterday I accompanied a group from the Washington Native Plant Society on an excursion to a lake in Western Washington where someone (who and when is a mystery) has introduced a number of carnivorous plants from other parts of the country, primarily the southeastern USA. These plants have established themselves and are thriving and reseeding in their new location. There are three species of pitcher plants (Sarracenia), Venus Fly-traps (Dionaea), a Cobra Lily (Darlingtonia), all introductions, as well as Sundews (Drosera) and a Butterwort (Pinguicula) which are native, but may be introduced in this location. These all grow along the edges of a quaking bog. We got very wet and muddy searching for these plants, but saw an abundance of the plants, this species still in bloom and the others finished. The gentleman who led the expedition refers to the place as the little bog of horrors, but it is really a little bog of wonders. For those who are not acquainted with carnivorous plants, these are plants that "eat" insects. In this case the insects crawl into the water in the tubular leaf which is shown, are unable to get out, drown, and are digested by the plant. "

This picture was published in the Mexican conservation journal, Especies, Mar-Apr, 2010 in an article on carnivorous plants. Here is a carnivorous plant that captures insects with the hairs and sticky drops the hairs excrete. The drops are not water but a sticky liquid that attracts and holds tiny insects which are then digested by the plant. The plant is very small; each of pads with its sticky hairs is only about 5mm in diameter.

This picture was published in the Mexican conservation journal, Especies, Mar-Apr, 2010 as the title photo for an article on carnivorous plants. Photographed in the "little bog of horrors" were some clumps of Venus' Flytraps. This was one of the few traps we found open and with an insect in it. This plant, native to North and South Carolina, has folding leaves which are ordinarily open, but are triggered to close when an insect lands inside the trap. Having closed and trapped an insect the plant slowly digests the insect and then reopens. The website for the Botanical Society of America provides the following information: "The leaves of Venus' Flytrap open wide and on them are short, stiff hairs called trigger or sensitive hairs. When anything touches these hairs enough to bend them, the two lobes of the leaves snap shut trapping whatever is inside. The trap will shut in less than a second. The trap doesn't close all of the way at first. It is thought that it stays open for a few seconds in order to allow very small insects to escape because they wouldn't provide enough food. If the object isn't food, e.g., a stone, or a nut, the trap will reopen in about twelve hours and 'spit' it out. When the trap closes over food, the cilia, finger-like projections, keep larger insects inside.... In a few minutes the trap will shut tightly and form an air-tight seal in order to keep the digestive fluids inside and bacteria out. The exoskeleton of the insect can not be digested by the flytrap, so it remains when the leaf reopens. If an insect is too large it will stick out of the trap. This allows bacteria and molds on the insect to thrive. Eventually the trap turns black, rots and falls off. The trap constricts tightly around the insect and secretes digestive juices, much like those in your stomach. It dissolves the soft, inner parts of the insect, but not the tough, outer part called the exoskeleton. At the end of the digestive process, which takes from five to twelve days, the trap reabsorbs the digestive fluid and then reopens. The leftover parts of the insect, the exoskeleton, blow away in the wind or are washed away by rain. The time it takes for the trap to reopen depends on the size of the insect, temperature, the age of the trap, and the number of times it has gone through this process. The lobe manufactures digestive juices and an antiseptic juice. This keeps the insect from decaying over the few days it is in the trap and purifies prey that it captures.... People still do not understand fully how the trap closes. The Venus' Flytrap does not have a nervous system or any muscles or tendons. Scientists theorize that it moves from some type of fluid pressure activated by an actual electrical current that runs through each lobe."

In Explore October 8, 2009, #374. When we visited the bog where someone had introduced all these carnivorous plants, we found this plant in abundance and in flower. The flowers, as can be seen in this photo, are very large and have a very large stigmatic surface. It is striking that this plant uses insects both for food and for pollination.