Carnivorous plants, illustrations: Kathryn Nichols.


simple experiments, but science was yet to reveal the extent to which many species go in order to deceive their quarry. In all, around 600 species of carnivorous plants exist, and their way of life seems to have evolved multiple times, showing that it is a good strategy for success. Pitcher plants are a widespread and varied plant


group, one that gets its name from the large funnels and tubes that contain liquid at the bottom and an open entrance at the other end. The rims of the pitchers are specially modified, being slippery, such that when an animal lands or crawls onto the edge it often slides down into the liquid inside. It’s then digested by the plant. On the menu for pitchers are a variety of insects, from ants and flies to beetles and bugs, but even sometimes small mammals. This might seem like a fairly passive way of ensnaring prey, but like the Venus flytrap, there is more to them than meets the eye. Some pitcher plants also


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use odour cues, presenting the false promise of food or other resources to lure unsuspecting prey to them. In some cases, this can be very specific and targeted. Recent scientific research has shown that at least one species of pitcher plant is very good at attracting ants through emitting odours that resemble the smell of ant trail pheromones. These pheromones are normally laid down by scout ants, sent out by the colony to look for sources of food. The trails they lay in the process of looking are used by other worker ants to come to the food source,


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