What makes the pitcher rim so dangerous to insects?

A wet, slippery surface that makes them aquaplane

Why do pitcher plants catch insects?

To get nutrients missing from poor soil

What happens to prey at the bottom of the pitcher?

It is digested by enzymes in the fluid

How do tree shrews interact with some Bornean pitcher plants?

They lick nectar and leave droppings that feed the plant

What is California's cobra lily?

A pitcher plant called Darlingtonia

Pitcher Plant Quiz: How Slippery Traps Catch Insects

A pitcher plant's rim becomes so slick when wet that ants aquaplane straight into the trap, and this pitcher plant quiz explains how the trick works. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on Nepenthes and Sarracenia, the peristome, digestive enzymes, nitrogen-poor soils, Nepenthes rajah, tree shrews, roosting bats and California's cobra lily.

Start Pitcher Plant Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Rim
What makes the pitcher rim so dangerous to insects?
Name
What is the slippery rim called?
Soil
Why do pitcher plants catch insects?
Fluid
What happens to prey at the bottom of the pitcher?
Tropical
Which genus includes tropical Old World pitcher plants?
American
Which genus includes North American trumpet pitchers?
Giant
Which pitcher plant has some of the largest pitchers?
Toilet
How do tree shrews interact with some Bornean pitcher plants?
Bats
Which animals roost in some Bornean pitchers?
Cobra
What is California's cobra lily?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What makes the pitcher rim so dangerous to insects?
Answer: A wet, slippery surface that makes them aquaplane
The peristome is coated in a thin film of water.
Q2: What is the slippery rim called?
Answer: The peristome
It is often brightly colored to attract insects.
Q3: Why do pitcher plants catch insects?
Answer: To get nutrients missing from poor soil
Nitrogen-poor bogs and forests favor carnivory.
Q4: What happens to prey at the bottom of the pitcher?
Answer: It is digested by enzymes in the fluid
Bacteria also help break it down.
Q5: Which genus includes tropical Old World pitcher plants?
Answer: Nepenthes
Many grow in Southeast Asia.
Q6: Which genus includes North American trumpet pitchers?
Answer: Sarracenia
They grow in bogs of the eastern US.
Q7: Which pitcher plant has some of the largest pitchers?
Answer: Nepenthes rajah
Its pitchers can hold over three liters.
Q8: How do tree shrews interact with some Bornean pitcher plants?
Answer: They lick nectar and leave droppings that feed the plant
The droppings supply nitrogen.
Q9: Which animals roost in some Bornean pitchers?
Answer: Small woolly bats
Their guano fertilizes the plant.
Q10: What is California's cobra lily?
Answer: A pitcher plant called Darlingtonia
Its hooded pitchers look like a rearing cobra.

Pitcher Plant Quiz – Slippery Traps

Pitcher plants grow in nutrient-poor soils and catch insects in leaves shaped like jugs. The rim, called the peristome, becomes so slippery when wet that ants and other insects aquaplane into the trap.

At the bottom, digestive fluid with enzymes breaks prey down. Tropical Nepenthes grow mainly in Southeast Asia, while Sarracenia grow in North American bogs. Nepenthes rajah has pitchers that hold several liters.

Some pitcher plants have partnerships with animals. Tree shrews feed on nectar and leave droppings in certain Bornean pitchers, and small bats roost in others, providing nutrients. California's Darlingtonia, the cobra lily, has a hooded pitcher.

What This Quiz Teaches

Plant lovers and students will enjoy these questions.

How the trap works
Why they eat insects
Which groups exist
Which giants are famous
Which animals partner with them

Did You Know?

Some pitchers have lids that keep out rain.
Mosquito larvae can live safely inside pitchers.
Pitcher plants still photosynthesize.
Many species are endangered by collecting.
Sarracenia hybrids are popular in gardens.