The enticing trap of the wild arum plant
Watch an arum plant trap a fly and cover it with pollen.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
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Transcript
Spring in central Europe - the first leaves break through the woodland floor. But these are the leaves of no ordinary plant. They are those of the wild arum. Its flowers exude not a sweet-smelling perfume, but the rancid smell of ammonia and excrements. And that’s not all. The purple rod of tiny flowers in its center emits heat. Infrared cameras reveal the secret weapon.
The combination of warmth and putrid smell is produced for one day only, but it's irresistible to a tiny fly. Each delicate-looking flower is an ingenious trap that lures and imprisons the small insects. The flies tumble down the slippery walls into the lower chamber where they are trapped by a circle of bristles above them. The next day, the male flowers open and cover the prisoners in clouds of pollen. The bristles wilt and the flies are paid in sugary nectar before being released back outside. They will now pollinate the next arum plant they visit.
The combination of warmth and putrid smell is produced for one day only, but it's irresistible to a tiny fly. Each delicate-looking flower is an ingenious trap that lures and imprisons the small insects. The flies tumble down the slippery walls into the lower chamber where they are trapped by a circle of bristles above them. The next day, the male flowers open and cover the prisoners in clouds of pollen. The bristles wilt and the flies are paid in sugary nectar before being released back outside. They will now pollinate the next arum plant they visit.