The Scented Strategy of Carnivorous Plants for Catching Prey
A recent study published in the journal PLOS One suggests that pitcher plants tailor the smells they produce to attract specific kinds of insects. Researchers identified odor molecules emanating from four types of pitcher plants and found that the scents seemed to be correlated with the kinds of insects that wound up in the pitchers. The findings suggest that when insects meet their deaths at the bottom of a pitcher, it may be an aroma they’re following.