Sarracenia Purpurea Prey Capture at Harvard Forest 2008

We experimentally demonstrate that nectar, not color, is the primary attractant of prey to carnivorous pitcher plants in their native habitats. Prey capture (either all taxa summed or individual common taxa considered separately) was not associated with total red area or patterning on pitchers of living pitcher plants. We separated effects of nectar availability and coloration using painted "pseudopitchers", half of which were coated with sugar solution. Unsugared pseudopitchers captured virtually no prey, whereas pseudopitchers with sugar solution captured the same amount of prey as living pitchers. In contrast to a recent study that associated red coloration with prey capture but that lacked appropriate controls for nectar availability, we conclude that nectar, not color, is the primary means by which pitcher plants attract prey.