I carried my pet Venus Fly Trap outside to an anthill for breakfast this morning, and as I watched it feast upon the little beasts, I got to thinking about evolution again.
The fly trap is the most famous of carnivorous plants, but it's not the only one. Sundews catch bugs with sticky droplets, kind of the way little kids trap germs on their grubby paws. Pitcher plants have perfected the art of drowning their prey inside slender vases full of flesh-dissolving enzymes.
These plants all grow in swamps, where the soil is poor and the protein of a bug is a great benefit.
It's easy to see how a pitcher could have evolved from some of the tubular contraptions that some other plants make. Or how some early sundew could have produced its sticky goo in the way that other plants do, such as a catch-fly flower, which hasn't learned to make use of it for making bugs into breakfast.
But, as I posted a while ago about the mosquito, the Venus Fly Trap is another one of those living things that appears to be an evolutionary mystery to me. The whole complicated structure has to work perfectly or the plant gets no meal. Sensitive hairs have to be touched just right by a crawling bug in order to trigger the snap-shut reflex. The leaf has to close completely or the bug will squeeze out and be gone. Then the leaf-trap has to secrete enzymes to digest the bug or the whole scenario is for nothing.
There are plants in the world that close at a touch -- such as a little clover-like thing that grew in the lawn when I lived in Hawaii years ago. So maybe one of those accidentally trapped a bug now and then and thrived on the unexpected protein, becoming more specialized over the eons.
With the world so full of bugs, one might think that Venus Fly Traps would be everywhere. But, surprisingly, they grow only on the East Coast of the U.S., within a few swamps.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
My friend eats bugs for breakfast
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Good day my Friend in Spirit that connects us all! Thank you for your Kudos! You caught me in the middle of editing and may not have read: * First, the below list is in no specific order. Second, my Friends and your notable blogs – you know who you are - where you stand in my heart and admiration, therefore; I know you support me in introducing 5 additional admirable bloggers.
In re to this post of yours - you beat me to it! LOL! I'll post mine later about my Friend the Gnat that has been pestering me lately!
eastcoastdweller, may you an interesting filled with womanly second-hand smoke!
And good day to You, Jmc.
I enjoy Your blog and I check on it every day -- keep on writing, the more the better! That's what I meant by my comment there.
It's been a long time since I had [a day](I presume that's what You meant) filled with Womanly second-hand smoke. It would be indeed be blissful. Thanks for the wish.
I'm flying out West to visit my folks at the end of the month. If I'm lucky, I'll get a layover in some airport that's still thoughtful enough to provide a smoking lounge.
I could die happy inside one of those plexiglass paradise boxes provided that the demographics lean more heavily towards Female inhabitants than male.
I am charmed that you carried your friend, the Venus Flytrap, outside to picnic with you and a thousand ants.
I have a personal relationship with my many houseplants, and in return, they ensure that I will never suffer from a shortage of oxygen.
Have you read Susan Orlean's "The Orchid Thief?" It's wonderful, and this post reminded me of it.
My friend is still quite small, and three ants were more than enough for it.
Perhaps in time it will grow to enjoy larger meals, such as the giant centipedes and tent caterpillars in my part of the world.
Thank you for your comment, HISF.
BTW, I have not read The Orchid Thief. I will add it to my list. Thanks for the tip.
Post a Comment