Sept. 2019
Sept 8 I added a locust into one of the larger S. Bugbat pitchers. The big pitcher deserves big food. I also wanted to get pictures of the mites walking across the giant locust eyes. I managed to get the locust positioned right. I didn’t want more pictures of locust butt. (Note the video is Sept 9. I didn’t like the Sept 8. They were nearly the same.)
The locust before...
The locust after being put into the S. Bugbat...
After a few days (Sept 12), the locust appears to have gotten moldy. Not sure what to make of that.
At one point I heard a buzzing sound coming from this pitcher. What could it be? I put the pencam in and saw that the pitcher had captured a giant wasp. It doesn’t look too happy. Notice how it struggles to get past the slippery walls of Hooker zone 2. I’m not sure why it didn’t fly out? Perhaps it was too tired by the time I spotted it.
The wasp died shortly after being captured. The next day, actually. Perhaps this plant is producing something toxic to wasps. Curious, since I’ve seen ants form ladders that last for weeks. Clearly the Bugbat is not killing the ants. (Or the ant ladder is being constantly refreshed with new ants to give the impression nothing’s changed) I need to look into this further.
Unfortunately, the big wasp is covering the locust. So much for locust closeups.
