Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 08:07:33 -0500 From: "Mellard, David" <dam7@cdc.gov> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3445$foo@default> Subject: RE: Frog droppings, and highlanders (was nepenthes again)
>I've read (in The Savage Garden) that pitcher plants may utilize the
>excrement from frogs/shrews/birds. I also keep poison arrow frogs so I
>was thinking of feeding the pitchers frog droppings. Anyone tried it
>already, problems?
Hi Chris,
I lost most of the spring Sarracenia pitchers due to an infestation of
parasitic moths. In the course of investigating why the pitchers (not the
plants) were dying, I opened up several and not only saw the larvae but saw
the larvae's droppings filling the pitcher as dead insects would do. What I
realized is that the reason pitcher plants do not die when they loose their
pitchers to these parasitic moths is that the droppings continue to feed the
plant through the lower parts of the pitcher that remain alive. I assume
the possibility is there to utilize droppings. One problem might be
overproduction of harmful microorganisms, which is what I suspect causes the
loss of tropical pitcher plant when feeding them too large a meal.
David
Atlanta
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