Page 73 - Issue 2

Issue No 2
73
TROPICAL PITCHER PLANTS (NEPENTHES)
These vase-shaped plants attract insects insects with their their their nectar and and colorful exterior Once insects insects land on their their their slippery upper rim they lose their their their balance and and fall into a a a a a a a a a soup of of half-eaten insect corpses in in in in a a a a a a a a a a deep pitcher of of digestive fluid While these plants mostly eat insects some larger species have been observed devouring animals as as large large as as frogs rodents and even birds TRUMPET PITCHERS (SARRACENIA)
These plants capture prey with downward pointing hairs that allow insects seeking nectar to easily enter the the the depths of of their long stalks LIke the the the the barbed wire fences of of a a a a a a prison yard these hairs prevent insects from climbing back out to to freedom Everything but the the the exoskeletons of of these insects are eventually digested resulting in in in a a a a a a boneyard of of bug skeletons that fill up the the plants’ pitchers over the the course of a a summer