Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pitcher plant
Pitcher plants (or pitfall traps) are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. Foraging, flying or crawling insects such as flies are attracted to the cavity formed by the cupped leaf, often by visual lures such as anthocyanin pigments, and nectar bribes. The sides of the pitcher are slippery and may be grooved in such a way so as to ensure that the insects cannot climb out. Through a mechanism of digestion, the prey is converted into a solution of amino acids, peptides, phosphates, ammonium and urea, from which the plant obtains its mineral nutrition (particularly nitrogen and phosphorus). Carnivorous plants occur in locations where the soil is too poor in minerals and/or too acidic for most plants to be able to grow.
Related Stories
1
2
Plants & Animals News
March 10, 2026
Mar. 8, 2026 Scientists have revealed how the body’s microscopic cold sensor, TRPM8, detects both chilly temperatures and the cooling effect of menthol. The discovery finally shows how the sensation of “cool” works at the molecular level—and could ...
Mar. 6, 2026 Koalas suffered a massive population decline that left them with dangerously low genetic diversity. However, new genomic research suggests their rapid rebound may be helping reverse some of that ...
Mar. 6, 2026 Scientists have discovered a newly identified marine fungus that can infect and kill toxic algae responsible for harmful blooms. The microscopic parasite, named Algophthora mediterranea, attacks algae such as Ostreopsis cf. ovata, which produces ...
Mar. 5, 2026 A new study shows that as humpback whale populations recover from past whaling, older males are gaining a major advantage in reproduction. Early in the recovery, breeding groups were dominated by younger whales. But as more mature males returned, ...
Mar. 5, 2026 A sweeping new study of more than 2,000 insect species reveals a troubling reality: many insects may be far less capable of coping with rising temperatures than scientists once hoped. Researchers found that while some species living at higher ...
Mar. 5, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a crucial weakness in the malaria parasite that could open the door to new treatments. Researchers identified a protein called Aurora-related kinase 1 (ARK1) that acts like a traffic controller during the parasite’s ...
Mar. 3, 2026 Returning rescued slow lorises to the wild may sound like a conservation success, but a new study shows it can turn deadly. Researchers tracked nine released animals and found that only two survived, with most killed in territorial attacks by other ...
Mar. 3, 2026 In Yellowstone’s wild chess match between wolves and cougars, it turns out the real power play is theft. After tracking nearly a decade of GPS data and thousands of kill sites, researchers found that wolves often muscle in on cougar ...
Mar. 2, 2026 Even in the ultra-dry Atacama Desert, tiny soil-dwelling nematodes are thriving in surprising diversity. Scientists found that biodiversity increases with moisture and altitude shapes which species survive. In the most extreme zones, many nematodes ...
Mar. 1, 2026 Scientists in Brazil have transformed cocoa waste into a functional chocolate-infused honey packed with antioxidants and natural stimulants. Using ultrasound waves, they enhanced honey’s ability to pull beneficial compounds from cocoa shells—no ...
Feb. 28, 2026 Scientists have built a massive cellular atlas showing how aging reshapes the body across 21 organs. Studying nearly 7 million cells, they found that aging starts earlier than expected and unfolds in a coordinated way throughout the body. About a ...
Feb. 28, 2026 Drug-resistant bacteria are becoming harder to treat, pushing scientists to look for new antibiotic targets. Researchers have now discovered that several unrelated viruses disable a key bacterial ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
Mar. 10, 2026 A nearly complete dinosaur skeleton discovered in Patagonia is helping scientists crack the mystery of alvarezsaurs, a bizarre group of bird-like dinosaurs. The fossil of Alnashetri cerropoliciensis ...
Mar. 10, 2026 Scientists have uncovered how brewer’s yeast developed its unusually tiny centromeres, the DNA regions that guide chromosome separation during cell division. By studying related yeast species, ...
Mar. 9, 2026 Researchers have created a method called optovolution that uses light to guide the evolution of proteins with dynamic behaviors. By engineering yeast cells so their survival depended on proteins ...
Mar. 9, 2026 DNA is revealing that many animals once thought to be a single species may actually be several hidden ones. But research on Bornean fanged frogs shows the line between species can be blurry—an ...
Mar. 9, 2026 Plants constantly juggle oxygen inside their cells, but scientists have now discovered a surprising twist in how that balance works. Researchers at the University of Helsinki found that ...
Mar. 8, 2026 While exploring ancient seabeds in Morocco, scientists discovered strange wrinkle-like textures in deep-water sediments that shouldn’t have been there. These structures are usually made by ...
Mar. 7, 2026 New research suggests seabird guano helped transform the Chincha Kingdom into one of the most prosperous societies in ancient Peru. Chemical clues in centuries-old maize show farmers fertilized their ...
Mar. 6, 2026 A tiny piece of moss helped expose a cemetery scandal in Illinois, where workers allegedly dug up graves and resold burial plots. By identifying the moss and analyzing its chlorophyll to estimate its ...
Mar. 6, 2026 Advanced 3D reconstructions of the comb jelly’s aboral organ reveal a sensory system far more complex than scientists expected. The organ contains a wide variety of specialized cells and is closely ...
Mar. 5, 2026 Tyrannosaurus rex may have taken far longer to grow up than scientists once thought. By analyzing growth rings in fossilized leg bones from 17 tyrannosaur specimens and using new statistical methods, ...