Venezuelan Pitcher Plant's Wettable Hairs Create Water Slide to Trap Insects
Posted on December 28, 2012
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have discovered that a Venezuelan pitcher plant uses wettable hairs to create a water slide that causes insect to slide to their deaths. The researchers found that the Heliamphora nutans pitcher plants trap many more ants when the hairs, called trichomes, are wet (88%) than when they are dry (29%).
This video shows ants sliding to their death in the pitcher plant. It shows that many more ants fall into the pitcher when the pitcher's hairs are wet. Take a look:
Dr Ulrike Bauer, lead author of the study from the University of Cambridge, said in a release, "When the hairs of the plant are wet, the ants' adhesive pads essentially aquaplane on the surface, making the insects lose grip and slip into the bowl of the pitcher. This is the first time that we have observed hairs being used by plants in this way, as they are typically used to make leaves water repellent."
The pitcher plant is located in the Guyana Highlands in Southern Venezuela. It mainly traps ants. The researchers also say the plant can use a wicking method to pull moisture from its bowl to help wet the hairs during period of little rain.
The research was published here in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
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