70 ASSOCIATION OF ORGANISMS THE WEB OF LIFE 



locking, so that a very perfect trap is constituted, in which there 

 is plenty of room for an average victim, since as the two halves 

 move together they become concave towards each other. As in 

 the other cases, digestion and absorption complete the tragedy. 

 Among the most notorious of carnivorous forms are the widely- 

 distributed Pitcher Plants, in which the leaves are hollowed into 

 structures which may be described as a combination of lure, pit- 



, ^ 



Fig. 1066. Venus' Fly-Trap (Dioneea muscifula] 



fall, and stomach. Such are the species of Nepenthes, which 

 range from Madagascar through South Asia and the East Indies 

 to the Philippines. In this case the lidded pitchers look some- 

 thing like hot-water jugs, and are attractively coloured. The 

 way in which they serve their purpose is thus described by 

 Kerner (in The Natural History of Plants}: " The bright 

 pitchers of Nepenthes, visible from afar, are sought, just as flowers 

 are, by insects, and probably by other winged creatures as well; 

 and this occurs all the more because there is a copious secretion 



