Have you seen or heard of plants that can eat animals? There
are a few plants which can trap insects and digest them. Is it not amazing?
Such plants may be green or of some other colour. Look at the plant in Figure.
The pitcher-like structure is the modified part of the leaf. The apex of the leaf forms a lid which can open and close the mouth of the pitcher. Inside the pitcher there are hair which are directed downwards. When an insect lands in the pitcher, the lid closes and the trapped insect gets entangled into the hair. The insect is digested by the digestive juices secreted in the pitcher. Such insect-eating plants are called insectivorous plant
Insectivorous plants are green and otherwise autotrophic plants which behave like heterotrophic organisms for their nitrogen supply. They have to depend on insects for their nitrogen supply and proteins. Rest of the food i.e., carbohydrates etc is manufactured by them selves.
 Examples of Insectivorous PlantsÂ
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- Nepenthes (Pitcher plant)
- Sarracenia (Devi’s Boots)
- Drosera (Sundew)
- Dionaea (Venus fly trap)
- Aldrovanda (Water flea trap)
- Utricularia (Bladder wots)
- Piguicula (Butterwort)
- Pitcher loop - Nepenthes, Sarracenia
- Snap trap - Dionaea
- Adhesive trap - Drosera, Pinguicula
- Suction trap - Utricularia
