Patient Pitchers

Wikimedia Commons: Rbrtjong/Public domain

The species Nepenthes rafflesiana, growing in the lowlands of Borneo, can adjust the slipperiness of its rim and dry out for up to eight hours a day. When the rim is dry, scout ants can walk across it and scope out the sweet nectar without worrying about slipping and falling inside. But instead of catching one ant at a time, N. rafflesiana waits patiently to wet its rim until the scout brings back worker ants to help nab more nectar for their nest. The ants slip and plunge to the base of the pitcher to be dissolved in a pool of digestive juices. Using this tactic, N. rafflesiana catches ants in batches, providing the plant a nutritious meal.

Though pitcher plants wouldn’t have been carnivorous in God’s original perfect creation, he equipped them to survive in a fallen world. Pitcher plants ooze more than nectar—they drip with evidence of divine design.

Article was taken from Answers magazine, October–December, 2020, 20.