A species of tree has been discovered that feeds on small insects

Scientists have discovered a tree that grows by eating the flesh of small insects, such as small cockroaches and small moths at its roots underground.

 

CNN reports that the tree, named 'Nepenthes pudica', was found on Borneo Island, in Kalimantan Province, Indonesia.

 

Like other trees, 'Nepenthes pudica' has branches and even the insects fall into them before they are eaten by the tree.

 

So far no other tree has been found to feed on insects from the underground where it is.

 

According to researchers, the leaves of the 'Nepenthes pudica', when they reach the ground, are small and white.

 

The researcher, Martin Dančák of the Palacký University Olomouc in the Czech Republic, said: "This species has roots about 11 centimeters deep in the ground where it reaches the crater and can attract insects such as lizards kind of insects and small moths."

 

Researchers also say that there might be other tree types of trees that seem to feed on the insects but not as for 'Nepenthes pudica' because it has an exception of attracting even the smaller insects.

 

Václav Čermák, a lecturer at Mendel University in Borneo, who is part of a team of researchers, described it as an extinct organism in the fallen leaves.

 

The researchers previously speculated that the leaves were created due to the soil and climatic conditions of the area where the tree was discovered but found that there was something else.

 

They point out that this discovery is very important for the conservation of diversity in Indonesia, a country that is considered to be rich in it.

 

The study was published in the journal PhytoKeys, which publishes articles on the environment and plants.

A species of tree has been discovered that feeds on small insects



Writer: Christian Mugisha


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