A carnivorous pitcher plant has been found to drug its prey with a toxic nerve agent before digesting it, researchers have discovered.
The plant, Nepenthes khasiana, produces a sweet nectar along the rim of its pitcher-shaped traps to attract insects, especially ants. But the nectar contains isoshinanolone, a nerve toxin that disrupts the insects’ nervous systems, causing sluggish movement, muscle weakness and excessive grooming. Affected ants often lose coordination, fall into spasms and eventually tumble into the pitcher, where they are drowned and digested. Some die from the toxin alone.
The nectar also contains three sugars that absorb water, making the rim extremely slippery and increasing the likelihood that prey will slide into the trap. Together, the toxin and slick surface turn the nectar into both bait and weapon.
By capturing insects in this way, the plant gains essential nutrients that are scarce in the poor soils where it grows.
