Date: Wed, 17 Dec 97 17:22 EST From: dave evans <T442119@RUTADMIN.RUTGERS.EDU> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg4751$foo@default> Subject: Re: nep feeding
> I ran home with a handful of mealworms, fed several of my neps
> that were growing a terrarium and awaited the burst of growth.
> Instead, every pitcher that recieved a mealworm sat for about
> a week, then turned black and died. After snipping off the dead
> pitchers, I noticed that most of the worms were completely intact.
> Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening, or should I
> just refrain from feeding them until they are larger (the pitchers were
> about 1-2 inches. There seem to have been no effects, positive or
> negative, on the plants.
Hello Brandon,
No, this isn't normal. Sound like either the Neps didn't like
the meal worms or they were over fed. I told Brandon about some
Nepenthes I recently recieved from Andreas Wistuba last night in a
private e-mail. Well, some those rosettes I have been feeding are
not even an inch, never mind the pitchers. I have to break off the
lids just to get something into them. I can see the plants' responce
to the feeding and it is very positive :) While most of the leaves
in the rosettes are about the same size, after feeding the next leaves
to grow show a nice increase in size.
Perhaps the meal worms innoculated the pitchers with bacteria they
couldn't handle.?. Or only half a meal worm/pitcher is enough?
BTW, since I mentioned him, all the plants I received from Andreas
(over a dozen) come through in great shape and health. I can give a
very positive recommendation for him if you're looking for Nepenthes!
Dave Evans
P.S. sometimes pitchers do die when fed, I think it mostly caused
by too much of the wrong bacteria or some other condition caused by
the food rotting (perhaps too little O2 in the pitcher?).
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 02 2001 - 17:31:17 PST