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An upper pitcher of Nepenthes lowii, a tropical pitcher plant that supplements its carnivorous diet with tree shrew droppings. [1] [2] [3]Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds.
Carrion flowers attract flies and other carrion-feeding insects by their smell. [12] Orbea variegata illustrated.. Carrion flowers, including the enormous Amorphophallus titanum, [11] mimic the scent and appearance of rotting flesh to attract necrophagous (carrion-feeding) insects like flesh flies (Sarcophagidae), blowflies (Calliphoridae), house flies and some beetles (e.g., Dermestidae and ...
The insects attracted to the insectary plants will also help the other nearby garden plants. Many members of the family Apiaceae (formerly known as Umbelliferae) are excellent insectary plants. Fennel, angelica, coriander (cilantro), dill, and wild carrot all provide in great number the tiny flowers required by parasitic wasps. Various clovers ...
Most of those that do have such a restrictive diet, such as certain parasitoids and hunting wasps, are specialized to exploit particular species, not insects in general. Indeed, much as large mantids and spiders will do, the larger varieties of pitcher plants have been known to consume vertebrates such as small rodents and lizards.
Many pitcher plants exhibit patterns of ultraviolet coloration which may play a role in attracting insects. [4] Some species, such as Cephalotus follicularis , likely use camouflage to trap insects, as their coloration matches that of the surrounding environment and the plants are often embedded in the substrate such that the traps are flush ...
A banana slug feeding on Amanita. Many terrestrial gastropod mollusks are known to feed on fungi. It is the case in several species of slugs from distinct families.Among them are the Philomycidae (e. g. Philomycus carolinianus and Phylomicus flexuolaris) and Ariolimacidae (Ariolimax californianus), which respectively feed on slime molds (myxomycetes) and mushrooms (basidiomycetes). [5]
These adaptations include specialized mouthparts, hair, digestive systems, and patterns of reproduction and foraging. Although all palynivores eat pollen, they do so to varying degrees and ways, so consequently their adaptations also differ. Bees and ants, for example, are insects that place different amounts of emphasis on pollen in their diets.
Eighty percent of the world's nations eat insects of 1,000 to 2,000 species. [10] [11] FAO has registered some 1,900 edible insect species and estimates that there were, in 2005, some two billion insect consumers worldwide. FAO suggests eating insects as a possible solution to environmental degradation caused by livestock production. [12]