Pitcher Plant

Pitcher plants are carnivores. Bats use pitcher plants as a toilet. They eat mostly insects, but sometimes small birds,frogs,rodents and rarely small monkeys. They are found in tropical areas of South America, many different areas of North America, and coastal areas of Australia. The insect or other prey is lured to the pitchers by the sweet nectar inside the pitcher. As it tries to drink nectar from the lid of the pitcher, it slides inside the pitcher into the liquid. There are small hairs pointing down into the base of the pitcher preventing the insect's escape by poking the insects in its face. The base of the pitcher is filled with rainwater which wets the insects wings, making it hard to escape. After struggling for several minutes, a liquid acid drowns the insect and digests it. In about 2-3 hours there is nothing left but the hard skin and bones.