Carnivores and Such

[isurus79]

I pulled this video and text from a page on Facebook that is simply called, "Evolution." Its a great science page on FB that posts really neat stuff. Anyway, here is the text, followed by a quick YouTube video:

A Venezuelan pitcher plant uses its downward-pointing hairs to create a "water-slide" which sends ants to their deaths.

Plant hairs (trichomes) usually repel water, but the hairs inside Heliamphora nutans actually attract it. This unusual property piqued the interest of researchers at the University of Cambridge, making them wonder whether these hairs had a role in prey trapping.

They found that when these hairs were wet, they sent ants aquaplanning to the bottom of the pitcher, where the plant can digest them. The trap rate was only 29% when the hairs were dry, but when they were wet this rate soared to 88%. Insects lose their grip on the wet hairs and slip to their deaths. According to Ulrike Bauer, the lead author, this is the first time plants have been observed using trichomes in this way.

Even more astonishing is the way H. nutans keeps its trichomes wet even during dry times. The plant is able draw moisture up from the liquid at its bottom and transport it to the hairs. This way, come rain or shine, this pitcher plant is prepared for any unfortunate ants!
Ants aquaplaning on a pitcher plant - YouTube

[Wireman]

It's a good thing it rains almost every day on the tepuis (9,000 mm of rain per year). I wonder if my H. minor does that. The painful irony in this is that Heliamphora hate having their leaves misted in cultivation.

My N. attenboroughii seeds have started germinating!!!

[31drew31]

Originally Posted by Wireman

The painful irony in this is that Heliamphora hate having their leaves misted in cultivation.

They do?? haha. I mist mine every couple of days to fill up the pitchers and help cool them off (more so in the summer months).

[Wireman]

Originally Posted by 31drew31

They do?? haha. I mist mine every couple of days to fill up the pitchers and help cool them off (more so in the summer months).

I know they don't like frequent misting. I fill mine, too, and they seem to wick water up the leaf like the article explains.
They might be like Cephalotus, they get crown rot if water gets trapped for too long.

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[Wireman]

Quick photo update!

U. sandersonii 'Blue' holding on to 3 flowers.

U. sandersonii 'Blue' by Wire Man, on Flickr

After doubling my light output my pygmy Drosera have decided to produce gemmae. Lots and lots of gemmae.

D. palaecea ssp. trichocaulis by Wire Man, on Flickr

D. palaecea ssp. trichocaulis by Wire Man, on Flickr

D. roseanna by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. burbidgeae, only showing what it's capable of doing. This one gets a lot fancier.

N. burbidgeae by Wire Man, on Flickr

Weird double ala on N. truncata

N. truncata Double Ala by Wire Man, on Flickr

New N. 'Dormouse' pitcher!

N. 'Dormouse' by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. 'Dormouse' by Wire Man, on Flickr

And a slightly smaller, but really dark N. 'Lorraine' pitcher

N. 'Lorraine' by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. 'Lorraine' by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. aristolochioides x ventricosa

N. aristolochioides x ventricosa by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. naga is steadily gaining in size.

N. naga by Wire Man, on Flickr

Cephalotus has hit an explosive growth rate!

Cephalotus by Wire Man, on Flickr

You'll want to full view this one. Nepenthes attenboroughii seeds have started to germinate!!!

N. attenboroughii Germination by Wire Man, on Flickr

[Kevinator]

Congrats on the seed! Now, someone is going to drive up to your house, drain all of your information about the germination of Nepenthes from your mind, and dominate the world (that person won't be me since I have some sort of restrain against these plants)!

[Wireman]

It honestly wasn't that hard. Bottom heat seems to be the key.

[Wireman]

I think it's time for another update.

Cephlotus before going into dormancy.

Cephalotus by Wire Man, on Flickr

D. paleacea ssp. trichocaulis

D. palaecea ssp. trichocaulis by Wire Man, on Flickr

D. madagascariensis

D. madagascariensis by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. attenboroughii seedlings

N. attenboroughii Sprouts by Wire Man, on Flickr

Shockingly, N. naga is already developing the lid appendage.

N. naga by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. lavicola

N. lavicola by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. 'Dormouse'

N. 'Dormouse' by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. boschiana

N. boschiana by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. 'Caladium'

N. 'Caladium' by Wire Man, on Flickr

[Tindomul]

Freaking awesome collection!

[Leafmite]

Just amazing! I only have a few but they certainly take care of the fungus gnats and whatever those dark things are at the bottom of those pitchers (one was an earwig). Really have come to admire them. Yours are truly fascinating! I'll bet you don't have much of a bug problem.