ALLIANCE BETWEEN CARNIVOROUS PLANTS AND ANTS
Mutualism in the Borneo jungle:
Carnivorous plants team up with ants to prevent mosquito larvae from eating the plant's nutrients.
A particular species of ant can walk at leisure all over the carnivorous plant without worry of being eaten. These ants consume the plant's nectar, and some insects that fall into the plant's trap.
In addition to their debugging work by aggressively eating up mosquito larvae, the busy ants also do housekeeping by maintaining the traps clean.
All that was known until now was that the plants with ants thrived, and those without them didn't do so well.
New research demonstrates that there is a flow of nutrients from the ants to their plant hosts. After ants eat the larvae, they fertilize the plant with their dung, which is full of nutrients.
New research demonstrates that there is a flow of nutrients from the ants to their plant hosts. After ants eat the larvae, they fertilize the plant with their dung, which is full of nutrients.
Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130522180304.htm
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