I've noticed that stickiness varies with species. I've observed
fruitflies (drosophila) struggle their way off D. rotundifolia, while
others completely snarl themselves up on D. dichotoma and D. capensis. D.
capensis seems to be the most viscous. All these seem to trap sciaria
easily, and D. rotundifolia seems to be very fond of tiny mite-like
creatures that I can't see with the naked eye, but know are there from the
bent tentacles, pressing them into the leaf. I guess what I'm getting at
is that in addition to stickiness, you have to consider the size and
strength of the prey to elude capture.
When I first started growing these plants, I kept them in a very humid
terrarium, sheltered from wind. Recently, I have potted them up and put
them in bright sunlight, where they are exposed to wind and atmospheric
humidity--which is usually above, but sometimes below, 50%. I guess the
San Francisco climate mimicks their habitat fairly closely, because they
seem to be MUCH healthier--more vigorous and generally more "natural"
looking. The mucilage is as copious and gooey as ever--as a matter of
fact, I've noticed that the drier conditions have made the mucilage
stickier. Perhaps this is because there's less non-sticky water in the
glue. But having said that, I have noticed that after a major feeding,
that is: after loading up every leaf with a bug, D. rotundifolia will
tend to exude mucilage ONLY on subsequent leaves, rather than on the "fed"
leaves. Perhaps this is some sort of energy conservation for the plant.
Has anyone observed this with other species?
Gary