Trap of a Pitcher Plant with Ants (IMAGE)
Caption
The trap of an insect-eating Nepenthes pitcher plant, swarming with nectar-collecting ants. Research from the University of Bristol, UK, has found that, by 'switching off' its traps for part of the day, the plant ensures 'scout' ants survive and are able to lead large numbers of followers to the trap. When the trap gets wet, it suddenly becomes super-slippery and captures all visitors in one sweep.
Credit
Dr Ulrike Bauer, University of Bristol, UK
Usage Restrictions
Image is for single use only to illustrate stories on the paper 'How to catch more prey with less effective traps: explaining the evolution of temporarily inactive traps in carnivorous pitcher plants' by Bauer et al in Proc. R. Soc. B and is not to be archived.
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