Sticky Death Trap.... by shepherdmanswife

Sticky Death Trap....

for flies and wasps. What a brilliant plant!
Sundews are characterised by the glandular tentacles, topped with sticky secretions, that cover their laminae. The trapping and digestion mechanism usually employs two types of glands: stalked glands that secrete sweet mucilage to attract and ensnare insects and enzymes to digest them, and sessile glands that absorb the resulting nutrient soup (the latter glands are missing in some species, such as D. erythrorhiza). Small prey, mainly consisting of insects, are attracted by the sweet secretions of the peduncular glands. Upon touching these, the prey become entrapped by sticky mucilage which prevents their progress or escape. Eventually, the prey either succumb to death through exhaustion or through asphyxiation as the mucilage envelops them and clogs their spiracles. Death usually occurs within 15 minutes. The plant meanwhile secretes esterase, peroxidase, phosphatase and protease enzymes. These enzymes dissolve the insect and free the nutrients contained within it. This nutrient mixture is then absorbed through the leaf surfaces to be used by the rest of the plant.
A vert interesting shot with a lot of details in it.
August 19th, 2014  
FAV, stunning shot and cool info too!
August 19th, 2014  
I absolutely love the colours and the sparkles. (maybe I'm ready for Christmas) This is stunning. Great bokeh
August 19th, 2014  
Sue
Fab macro, I love the little blobs of stick stuff on the ends.
August 19th, 2014  
Great detail of an amazing plant.
August 19th, 2014  
stunning!
August 19th, 2014  
Delightful! FAV
August 19th, 2014  
Awesome shit
August 19th, 2014  
Lovely.
August 19th, 2014  
Amazing what one can learn on this site! Your image is intriguing for its obvious stickiness and colorful appeal to its prey.
August 19th, 2014  
Amazing shot - fav
August 19th, 2014  
Beautiful!
August 19th, 2014  
Very nice details!
August 19th, 2014  
The light, the color, the composition ... and ... ooooo, that wonderful DoF. Beautiful!
August 19th, 2014  
Wonderful detail.
August 19th, 2014  
Lovely biology/ bicohemistry/ zoology /microbiology whatever category this falls into lesson with breakfast! No seriously I was interested and enjoyed it and could almost visualise it. Is it bad to visualise an insects death? And over breakfast?
August 19th, 2014  
Such a wonderful looking plant. Very pretty.
August 19th, 2014  
Super clarity and colours.
August 19th, 2014  
...and of course bokeh!
August 19th, 2014  
Lovely shot, great details and bokeh and dof.
August 19th, 2014  
Brilliant and a huge FAV!
August 19th, 2014  
It is a stunning photograph, but really the description is more than I want to think about before breakfast. Telling myself that nutrient soup doesn't look like coffee.
August 19th, 2014  
Oh you may not know me and how I like to tease so let me add (;.
August 19th, 2014  
wow-this is fabulous! so so well done FAV
August 19th, 2014  
Love all the droplets of light! Love it! Fav
August 19th, 2014  
Fantastic shot :) FAV
August 19th, 2014  
Fantastic detail, really like this.
August 19th, 2014  
wonderful detail, love it
August 19th, 2014  
Gorgeous. Fav
August 19th, 2014  
An amazing look into the details of this plant. Very cool.
August 19th, 2014  
It's amazing how beautiful digestion can be! Lovely shot!
August 19th, 2014  
Just love this, it is so pretty!
August 19th, 2014  
interesting
August 19th, 2014  
Fabulous macro shot,great detail of the sticky droplets.FAV!!
August 19th, 2014  
Stunning. Fav.
August 19th, 2014  
Fantastic detail!
August 19th, 2014  
Amazing detail
August 19th, 2014  
Perfect! What an amazing shot.
August 19th, 2014  
Fantastic fav.
August 19th, 2014  
Love the detail
August 19th, 2014  
fabulous details, colors and bokeh... fav
August 19th, 2014  
Super shot. Fav.
August 19th, 2014  
Stunning picture. Congratulations on making the Trending Page. Well deserved.
August 19th, 2014  
Wonderful photo. Fav.
August 19th, 2014  
I love the details in this. Fav!
August 19th, 2014  
A riot of great color and texture. Brilliant! Fav
August 19th, 2014  
Nice capture
August 19th, 2014  
Amazing, I can feel the stickiness here!
August 19th, 2014  
Wonderful detail.
August 19th, 2014  
fantastic shot
August 19th, 2014  
Wonderful macro - love all those little details. Thanks for all the info - nature is amazing! And regarding my photo for today, I used 3 separate textures and applied them to various areas of the photo. Takes a bit of work but was happy with the final result. ;)
August 19th, 2014  
Stunning macro! Love those drops
August 19th, 2014  
Lovely macro those droplets are like tiny jewels
August 19th, 2014  
Magical capture! Fav.
August 19th, 2014  
Lovely close-up capture.
August 19th, 2014  
Oh goodness, this is a bit special
August 19th, 2014  
Lovely colourful capture and details on the glands
August 19th, 2014  
Really lovely capture of these tentacles.
August 19th, 2014  
Wow, love the sticky detail. And the interesting commentary. Fav.
August 19th, 2014  
Fantastic macro! Love the colors, the clarity of focus, the DOF and the bokeh, even if it is toxic. :) Fav.
August 19th, 2014  
wow this is so awesome!! great shot!
August 19th, 2014  
Super fav!:)
August 19th, 2014  
@joemuli Thanks for the Fav Joey, but it's not showing. Would you mind pressing the * again:)
August 19th, 2014  
Excellent picture, it is almost abstract rather than still life.
August 19th, 2014  
Simply wonderful.
August 19th, 2014  
wow, looks great!
August 19th, 2014  
Great macro shot.
August 19th, 2014  
Amazing...Fav
August 19th, 2014  
Love that bokeh, so pretty, naturally abstract :)
August 19th, 2014  
beautiful macro with fabulous detail....iinteresting info too....fav...cheers and appreciate your visits...
August 19th, 2014  
You really captured this in a stunning way. The bokeh of the background sparkles, while the prickliness, stickiness, and ominous feel of the plant come through. Fascinating read.
August 19th, 2014  
Amazing capture...Fav & following back! 😊
August 20th, 2014  
Wow, thanks for the science lesson. I love the photo on its own, too. The selective focus helps create a pleasing, abstract composition, with a nice balance of colors and textures.
August 20th, 2014  
amazing
August 20th, 2014  
great image. very nice colour, sharpness and bokeh
August 20th, 2014  
OK...this is gorgeous!
August 20th, 2014  
Superb
August 20th, 2014  
lovely colours and focus - fav
August 20th, 2014  
Nature is amazing and what a way to die...dissolving :-) Great shot and description...
August 20th, 2014  
@nicholascronin it doesn't bear thinking about does it? What a horrid way to go. It got a wasp a couple of days ago so not all bad.
August 20th, 2014  
Love the sparkly background.
August 20th, 2014  
Deadly, but oh so gorgeous in this capture, such lovely colour and wonderful comp and dof, fav for me!
August 20th, 2014  
Lee
What a great close up shot, incredible detail.
August 20th, 2014  
Fabulous and amazing!
August 22nd, 2014  
Congrats on TT -amazing image and a fav
August 22nd, 2014  
Congrats on TT Chantal! this is such an interesting image. Fav
August 22nd, 2014  
How did I miss this? LOVE it, and big congrats!
August 22nd, 2014  
Congrats on the double -- this shot remains one of my favs of the week.
August 22nd, 2014  
Just marvelous! Congrats on your tts this week. A big fav!
August 22nd, 2014  
Congrats on double TT, if I could fav this again I would.
August 23rd, 2014  
Jo
Such wonderful detail, colours and bokeh, congrats on the TT's, well deserved.
August 24th, 2014  
Fabulous closeup. Congratulations.
August 27th, 2014  
Wow, interesting science lesson, and a beautiful shot!! Of course, all I read was "blah, blah, blah.....death by asphyxiation, blah, trapped, blah, eaten..."! I am glad the plant is getting so many nutrients so that it can become this gorgeous subject for your photos.....the bokeh in the background, and the water drops are amazing!
August 27th, 2014  
I love this, amazing shot the focus and DOF work well
August 28th, 2014  
Fantastic image! The details are amazing. Congrats on the TT!
August 28th, 2014  
what a cool image. fav.
August 31st, 2014  
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