Struggling Prey

Demetrio Lamzaki (Dee_Lamzaki@msn.com)
Mon, 26 Feb 96 04:10:35 UT

RB>Really, I always have to wonder how an insect perceives its
RB>world and situation (grab the white coats, Bob's going off the
RB>deep end!), and can't help but feel sorry for a moth jammed
RB>down a S. flava pitcher. Must be damn uncomfortable. I
RB>suppose if I could choose a carnivorous plant in which to end
RB>my insect existence, it would be Nepenthes because there are
RB>obviously some good drugs in there. :)

When you have Sarracenia full of flies and other insects and they're all
buzzing like crazy trying to get out of the pitchers, especially on
sunny days when you can actually see through the pitchers due to the
sun's backlighting all the individuals struggling up and down the
insides of the tubes it can get a bit unsettling, but then again that's
just how nature is. I wonder how a spider must feel being paralyzed and
then eaten alive by a tarantula hawk larva, or how a caterpillar feels
slowly being eaten from the inside by parasitic larvae of flies and
wasps, I'll never forget as a boy hearing the terrible sounds frogs make
when they were caught by snakes in the creek behind my house, or the way
rabbits scream when they're grabbed by raccoons. It's always rough
being prey, but carnivorous plants use much more gentle methods than
their animal counterparts. Still, I agree with you, I wouldn't trade
places with those yellow jackets! :-)

Regards,

Demetrios