Re: Intro and a question

Robert Allen (Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM)
Tue, 2 Nov 1993 10:01:30 +0800

>>On to the questions. Are some plants "bigger eaters" than others? Or perhaps
>>I should ask does it vary much from species to species? Within a species?
>>Do some plants prefer (and therefore attract) different kinds of insects?
>>For instance, my wife has a pair of insectivorous lizards. Would the crickets
>>I buy at the pet store for them be a good diet for some species of plants
>>and not for others?

While some plants are pre-disposed to certain bugs in the
wild, such as Sarracenias and wasps, N. ampullaria and ants,
etc., the basic rule seems to be that the size of the bug is
what matters. Bugs which are too big will escape, or if
they are caught, can rot the leaf, but typically the plants
can only catch bugs that are of a correct size.
>>
>>I've noticed quite a few of the venus fly traps for sale in a local garden
>>chain. But they never look very healthy...they are sealed in some kind of
>>plastic cube and always look on the verge of rotting..are they, or is this
>>a normal part of this plants life-cycle?

Flytraps grow from a rhizome, which elongates over time.
Some people call these "bulbs". In the winter the flytrap
goes dormant. The leaves die back to the rhizome. All
my flytraps have gone dormant already. This dormancy is
required for the plant to come back bigger and better each
year. As for the plants in stores, they are often under-
watered, etoliated from lack of sun, etc. Flytraps require
lots of pure water, plus lots of sun, during their growth
cycle. They will respond with larger, more active, traps,
and a deep reddish colour inside the traps.

Robert