Each insectivorous leaf is an ingenious trap. The greedy little flying insects were attracted by the deadly sweet smell. Once they landed in the "felt hell", they were firmly stuck to the "dew" secreted by the glandular hairs; when the insects tried to struggle, they touched a larger area of ????the hell. They have long glandular hairs, which are strongly stimulated and then produce induction, which affects the leaves and slowly "embraces" the insects towards the center of the leaves, making the insects unable to move. At this time, the short glandular hairs will secrete liquid with digestive enzymes, which will pull the insects away. Slowly digested, nitrogenous nutrients are transported into the plant through the leaf epidermal cells, while the indigestible chitinous shell is left behind. Such a process takes at least a few hours, after which the leaves will unfold again, waiting for the next prey.

Everyone must be curious as to why sundew, as a plant, can obviously rely on photosynthesis to eat for free, so why does it go to such great lengths to eat bugs? In fact, the habitats of sundew and other carnivorous plants are generally acidic swamp wetlands or exposed rock surfaces. The environment is severely lacking in elements such as nitrogen and phosphorus, and their photosynthetic efficiency is low. In order to adapt to the barren environment, they must maintain good With their growth, sundew and other carnivorous plants have evolved the ability to "supply themselves" by eating small insects. Of course, they can survive without eating insects, but if their diet is not improved for a long time, their growth rate will be affected.

The damselfly fell into the trap designed by D. anglica, and even its large body cannot escape this felt hell. Image: Noah Elhardt / wikimedia

So, do sundews eat just about anything? ——My appetite is not that good! First of all, the trap of Drosera only reacts to organic matter, and is completely insensitive to inorganic matter such as raindrops and gravel. Secondly, the reaction rate of Drosera to different organic matter is also different, and it is most sensitive to the stimulation of protein, followed by Sugars and fats; furthermore, sundews like to eat raw, and their traps respond much faster to live insects than dead ones.

The sundew must be passed down from generation to generation, right? If the trap catches pollinating insects, wouldn’t it be cut off? You don’t have to worry about this. Most sundews have slender flower stems that extend out of the plant and away from the insect-catching leaves. The flower stems are 5 to 20 cm long, so the insects that help pollinate will not be accidentally eaten.