I was recently sent some mature plants of S.purpurea and
D.rotundifolia. The Drosera are growing like a weed :-) and the S.
purpurea are just starting to show signs of new pitcher formation.
The question I had is this, in the S.purpurea pitchers there are
small, white worms swimming along the sides in the water. They are,
I believe, hatching into small black flies, the same kind that
accumulate on rotting fruit. The worms are immune to the pitcher
plant and most of the flies escape although some have drowned (:-)).
When the flies do escape, they usually end up being caught by my
Drosera (another :-)!).
My question is, are these worms or flies harmful to my pitcher plant?
With new pitchers being formed, should I just cut off the old, infested
ones if they are harmful? Finally, does anyone have any idea what these
might be? I haven't had time to like at them under the dissecting scope,
but will if it's helpful in their identification. Please let me know if
more information is needed or if cutting off the pitchers is a drastic
measure (ie: maybe insecticides should be used?). Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Chris Teichreb
Department of Biology
University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan, CANADA
E-mail: teichrch@Meena.CC.URegina.CA