A carnivorous pitcher plant has been found to lace its sugary nectar with a chemical nerve agent that incapacitates its prey before killing it.
The plant, Nepenthes khasiana, secretes a sweet liquid around the rim of its pitcher-shaped traps, attracting insects such as ants. Researchers have discovered that this nectar contains isoshinanolone, a toxic compound that disrupts the insects’ nervous systems, slowing their movements, weakening muscles and triggering excessive grooming. Affected ants often lose coordination, fall into spasms and eventually tumble headfirst into the pitcher, where some die outright.
The nectar also contains three water-absorbing sugars that make the pitcher’s rim extremely slippery, further increasing the chance that drugged insects slide into the trap. Once inside, they are digested, providing vital nutrients for the plant, which grows in nutrient-poor soil.
The combination of sweetness, toxicity and slipperiness makes the nectar both lure and weapon, turning an enticing meal into a fatal mistake for unsuspecting prey.
