> Hi everyone,
>
> 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.
>
Quite honestly, I think they'll be extra food for the plant. I have seen some
daphnia-like creatures in the pitchers of my S.purpurea ssp. purpurea f.
heterophylla, and they hatch into tiny black flies. They learn to fly from the
walls of the pitcher, needless to say, they are usually not successful first
time :-)
My plant loves it. Being as it is so small that tiny black flies are the only
thing it can catch.
If you feel that the worms or flies are harming the pitchers, cut off
the older pitchers when the top of their hood goes brown.
Regards,
Toby Marsden