Biologists found plant uses raindrops to eat ants

You might also like

Tesla driverless system to use updated radar technology

12/09/2016

Apple to develop its own self-driving technology

10/09/2016

HARROW: A carnivorous pitcher plant uses power from falling raindrops to fling ants to their doom, biologists have discovered.
The team, from the University of Bristol, found that raindrops kick off very fast vibrations in the lid of the plant’s jug-shaped leaves.
This propels ants from the lid into the pitcher trap below, where they drown and are consumed by digestive juices.
The findings, published in the journal PNAS, are based on high-speed cameras and laser vibration measurements.
Using these instruments, Dr Ulrike Bauer and her colleagues recorded extremely fast movement in the lid of the pitcher leaf, after it was hit by a raindrop.
It wobbles like a stiff spring, she said.
“You have a raindrop hitting the surface and that causes it to move down, fast. Then because of this spring property, it moves to a certain point and springs back.
“You get an oscillation, very similar to what you put a ruler on the edge of your desk and flick the end down with your finger.”