Nectar nurtures pitcher plant’s eating habits

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 - 14:42 in Mathematics & Economics

New research from the Harvard Forest shows that carnivorous pitcher plants use sweet nectar to attract ants and flies to their water-filled traps, not color, as earlier research had indicated. The work, which was among the first to experimentally examine the role of nectar in attraction by pitcher plants in the field, not only served to advance understanding of insect-eating plants, it also helped to improve science education at local schools. It was conducted as part of a National Science Foundation-funded program to enrich science training of local schoolteachers. read more

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