II 



PLANTS THAT EAT INSECTS 



"So sensitive, 

 It catcheth each rover that doth touch its leaves." 



PLANTS set traps, catch, and eat flies, bees, 

 butterflies, gnats, ants, fish, and even large 

 moths ! 



There are a variety of animal foods which are 

 needed to satisfy the various tastes of plants; for 

 the same menu cannot satisfy all kinds of plants, 

 any more than one food can suit the palates of all 

 human beings. Plants have their likes and dis- 

 likes in food, just as people have their preferences. 

 Most of the insect-eating plants love marshy low- 

 lands, and in such localities they cannot get from 

 the earth the necessary amount of nitrogen and sul- 

 phur, which all plants require. As a result they 

 are forced to resort to carnivorous habits, in order 

 to obtain the requisite nourishment. They set 

 traps, catch their prey, kill and eat it, and extract 

 from the bodies of these insects the food required. 



The carnivorous plants have many ingenious 

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