Re: squiggly thing in Sarracenia

Chris Teichreb (teichrch@Meena.CC.URegina.CA)
Mon, 25 Mar 1996 17:01:03 -0600 (CST)

Hi Steve,

>
> Hi all:
>
> I just observed something different inside the pitcher of a Sarracenia
> Purpurea (serious posting this time). There are a bunch of little
> squiggly things, that look like hypens, swimming around on the surface
> of the water inside the a pitcher. They are about the size of a
> pin head. I was told these will not cause a problem for the plant.
> What are they, and will they cause a problem for me or other plants in the
> greenhouse?
>
> ---Steve
>

I also have this 'problem' and recently asked the same question
to this group. The basic response was 'no, they're a natural part of the
ecology of your Sarracenia'. It sounds most likely that what you have
are mosquito larvae since they're at the surface of the water. The
larvae feed off of detritus in the pitcher helping break down it's prey.
Since S.purpurea has a very weak digestion (primarily bacterial), the
larvae are not digested but help the plant obtain nutrients from drowned
insects much more rapidly.

Mosquitoes may cause a problem to you as the females need blood
to build up enough resources to lay eggs. However, adult mosquitoes have
not been known to try and draw blood from a plant ;-). If anything, such
as was in my case, they provide a meal for your Drosera, etc. If they
happen to be midges, they're even less of a problem as they don't feed as
adults but just reproduce and die! Hope this helps.

Regards,

Chris Teichreb
Department of Biology
University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan, CANADA

E-mail: teichrch@Meena.CC.URegina.CA