Date: Tue, 04 Mar 1997 09:27:26 -0600 (CST) From: Chris Teichreb <teichrch@MEENA.CC.UREGINA.CA> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg801$foo@default> Subject: Re: Question about Utricularia...
Hi Jeff,
On Mon, 3 Mar 1997, Jeffrey Shen wrote:
> Hello out there on the CP list!
>
> I was just wondering if you guys could answer this question for me. I've
> read that Utricularias (aka Bladderworts) were "waterwheel" type plants
> which grow in lakes and ponds and whose traps are "boxtrap-like," feeding
> off of aquatic insects. However, I further read that there are also
True, although your description sounds more like Aldrovanda (sp?)
another aquatic carnivorous plant. Anyways, the aquatic Utrics have
small bladder like traps which have sensitive hairs on the outside
and a small vacuum on the inside. When a creature such as Daphnia
touches the hair, this causes the bladder door to open into which
water, and hopefully for the plant, the prey are sucked into. Then
there's the digestion process and resetting of the trap...etc.
> "terrestrial species" that do not grow in ponds. My question is: How
> do these traps work? What do these plants feed on? Are they terrestrial
> plants, but have their traps in some sort of body of water? Or are
> they totally terrestrial based, and catch their insects on land?
Terrestrial, and epiphytic species, grow in very damp soils.
Damp enough that some people consider them amphibious. The creatures
that live in the soils (such as fungus gnats) are what I beleive make
up the majority of the diet in 'captivity', but I suppose other
larvae and nematodes, etc. are caught in the wild. Since the soil
is usually so wet, and the traps are usually quite small, the traps
are basically in a suspension of water. Sometimes, the traps will
overgrow a pot (especially the epiphytic species), but I'm not sure
if they're functional outside of their watery, muddy home.
>
> Thanks for any info!
>
> -Jeff Shen
>
Hope that helps.
Regards,
Chris Teichreb
Department of Biology
University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan, CANADA
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