In Australia, there is a sundew that plays what may be nature's most cynical game. It flowers to attract pollinators, then traps them in sticky traps just centimeters away. Not quite by design, but the result is the same. The insect comes for the flower, and sometimes never leaves.
According to a new study, ‘Fatal attraction: flowers lure pollinators as prey in the carnivorous Drosera hookeri (Droseraceae),’ published in Annals of Botany by researchers at the University of New England, Australia, the carnivorous sundew Drosera hookeri has flowers and sticky trap leaves growing on average just 2.56 centimeters apart.
And that closeness is a serious problem for any visiting insect. The researchers worked in the field for over 10 years from 2007 to 2021, filming around 131 hours of footage at 93 plants on granite outcrops in eastern Australia.
A conflict most plants avoid
Many carnivorous plants have evolved ways to keep their pollinators safe: tall flowering stalks, distinct chemical signals, or timing that keeps trap leaves dormant while flowers are open. According to ‘Pollinator-prey conflict in carnivorous plants’, a review by Jürgens et al. published in Biological Reviews, this tension between needing insects for food and needing them for pollination is a well-documented evolutionary problem, and most carnivorous plants have found strategies to manage it.
Drosera hookeri has not. It has flowers and trap leaves with the same short stem, just a couple of centimeters apart. Any insect that visits the flower is well within striking distance of the trap.
