FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I saw an earwig that crawled on the pitcher of my scarlet belle. It was drinking nectar. After a while, the bug just stayed there for about 5 minutes. So, i poked the earwig into the pitcher.

1. How long does the pitcher plant digest the earwig?

2. After the bug has been digested, does the body stays in the pitcher forever?

good questions...do you have to empty the pitchers? I have one as well and wondered the same things.

Very good question! I am going to experiment to find out! (NOTE: Bugs Will Be Harmed)

The insects will slowly digest in the pitcher for the life of the pitcher (a week to two months). In short, an insect will never be completely digested by a pitcher (e.g. it will never "disappear" because it was fully digested).

The Saracenia produces digestive enzymes through the walls of the pitcher, which break down the insects, extract some of their nutrients, and then the pitcher absorbs those nutrients back through the walls of the pitcher and down to the rhizome to feed the plant.

In nature, when the pitcher eventually dies and falls off the plant, the insect's husk and some leftover undigested nutrients will remain and go back to the earth.

Sometimes a single Sarracenia pitcher will catch so many insects it can't digest them all, so the part of the pitcher (around the middle/lower part) where the pile of insects are touching the inside wall, will turn brown to "stop" the digestion process in that area, because it doesn't need all those nutrients, in which case the insects will not be digested further.

Most Sarracenia, when left outdoors and to their own devices, will very frequently "catch too many insects" so the browning of the midsection of pitchers is very common and is nothing to worry about. Sarracenia are known to be gluttonous pigs and often catch so many insects the pitcher will literally topple over from the weight.

Thanks Veronis! I thought insects drown in the pitchers! lol. I placed a spider in one of the pitchers. After a few days, i looked inside the pitcher but nothing is happening. I guess i'll take a few more days for digestion to begin.

alvin wrote:Thanks Veronis! I thought insects drown in the pitchers! lol. I placed a spider in one of the pitchers. After a few days, i looked inside the pitcher but nothing is happening. I guess i'll take a few more days for digestion to begin.

It develops the digestive enzymes through the inner walls of the pitcher. It doesn't make oodles of it; just enough for its food. A pitcher with 10 insects that it caught two weeks ago won't be one-third-full of fluid like Nepenthes or anything. You can see that digestion is occurring in a Sarr because the bugs will look like brown/black remnants of their former selves.

Here's a pic of a pitcher full of digested bugs (gluttonous pigs ) sliced open lengthwise. It shows what digested insects look like better than I've described. I'd guess this pitcher is 1-2 months old. The photo was taken by the International Carnivorous Plant Society:

Ewww...