Post by sweetpea on May 16, 2009 11:50:20 GMT
Subject: Byblis glandular mucus
Sub title: could it contain a sleeping drug come anesthetizing agent; nerve immobilizing agent and/or an insecticide?
Konnichiwa!
I have been producing Byblis for the past ten years. In summer, to avoid the heat of the day, I often work at night under lights. My greenhouses are surrounded by rice fields. The harmful insect pest of the rice plant, Nephotettix cincticeps as well as many other insects are drawn to the lights in my Byblis greenhouse, where many of the insects of varying sizes are caught on the Byblis foliage.
Some insects however, because of their larger size do manage to escape from the glands on the Byblis foliage and drop to the soil in the pots below. I have often observed that the movements of these larger insect escapees are very slow and by the morning are dead.
At first I thought their death had occurred due to suffocation by their air-breathing pores being clogged with Byblis gland mucus. After observing many larger insect escapees with slowed movements followed by death, I have come to the conclusion that suffocation by mucus maybe wrong.
Last summer, I witnessed a Polistes wasp from the time it was first caught on Byblis foliage, to its escape and eventual death. The Polistes wasp, also known as a paper wasp, is far too large for Byblis to capture and process effectively as prey. Within ten minutes of capture, I noticed that the wasp was barely moving. I removed the wasp from the Byblis foliage and on closer observation it appeared that its air-breathing pores had not been blocked with Byblis gland mucus. Even though the wasp was still alive it was hardly moving, it appeared almost comatose. In the morning I found the insect had died.
One morning just recently I found a grasshopper caught on a Byblis plant (see photo 18: the grasshopper's forearms did not move at the time, it looked like it was almost dead). I took the photo on May 12,2009. The size of the grasshopper was far too large for Byblis to use as prey. I removed the grasshopper from the Byblis and noticed once again that it was hardly moving but was not dead. I could also see the grasshopper had no Byblis mucus clogging its air-breathing pores. In the evening, each time I touched the grasshopper it went into convulsions. The following morning the grasshopper drank some water that my wife had given to it but it was still rather frail and barely moving.
Byblis species are not immune from insect attack. I have seen a few types of caterpillar species eating Byblis. One morning, I noticed that some herbivorous insect had eaten half of an entire Byblis plant during the night. I do not know what the insect was or in what condition its health was after it had eaten this Byblis plant.
From these observations two questions have occurred to me.
1:Does the biochemical viscid glandular secretion mucus of Byblis and other carnivorous plants bearing dewy glands not only contain a digestive enzyme but also a sleeping drug come anesthetic, nerve destroying agent and/or insecticide as well that effects all flying insects?
2: Would it be possible to develop an insecticide, that is harmless to both man and the environment, based on the insect immobilizing chemical components contained within this viscid glandular secretion mucus?
Kind regards
P.S. I will post a few photos. Please wait to reply to this message till then.
Photo 18:
Sub title: could it contain a sleeping drug come anesthetizing agent; nerve immobilizing agent and/or an insecticide?
Konnichiwa!
I have been producing Byblis for the past ten years. In summer, to avoid the heat of the day, I often work at night under lights. My greenhouses are surrounded by rice fields. The harmful insect pest of the rice plant, Nephotettix cincticeps as well as many other insects are drawn to the lights in my Byblis greenhouse, where many of the insects of varying sizes are caught on the Byblis foliage.
Some insects however, because of their larger size do manage to escape from the glands on the Byblis foliage and drop to the soil in the pots below. I have often observed that the movements of these larger insect escapees are very slow and by the morning are dead.
At first I thought their death had occurred due to suffocation by their air-breathing pores being clogged with Byblis gland mucus. After observing many larger insect escapees with slowed movements followed by death, I have come to the conclusion that suffocation by mucus maybe wrong.
Last summer, I witnessed a Polistes wasp from the time it was first caught on Byblis foliage, to its escape and eventual death. The Polistes wasp, also known as a paper wasp, is far too large for Byblis to capture and process effectively as prey. Within ten minutes of capture, I noticed that the wasp was barely moving. I removed the wasp from the Byblis foliage and on closer observation it appeared that its air-breathing pores had not been blocked with Byblis gland mucus. Even though the wasp was still alive it was hardly moving, it appeared almost comatose. In the morning I found the insect had died.
One morning just recently I found a grasshopper caught on a Byblis plant (see photo 18: the grasshopper's forearms did not move at the time, it looked like it was almost dead). I took the photo on May 12,2009. The size of the grasshopper was far too large for Byblis to use as prey. I removed the grasshopper from the Byblis and noticed once again that it was hardly moving but was not dead. I could also see the grasshopper had no Byblis mucus clogging its air-breathing pores. In the evening, each time I touched the grasshopper it went into convulsions. The following morning the grasshopper drank some water that my wife had given to it but it was still rather frail and barely moving.
Byblis species are not immune from insect attack. I have seen a few types of caterpillar species eating Byblis. One morning, I noticed that some herbivorous insect had eaten half of an entire Byblis plant during the night. I do not know what the insect was or in what condition its health was after it had eaten this Byblis plant.
From these observations two questions have occurred to me.
1:Does the biochemical viscid glandular secretion mucus of Byblis and other carnivorous plants bearing dewy glands not only contain a digestive enzyme but also a sleeping drug come anesthetic, nerve destroying agent and/or insecticide as well that effects all flying insects?
2: Would it be possible to develop an insecticide, that is harmless to both man and the environment, based on the insect immobilizing chemical components contained within this viscid glandular secretion mucus?
Kind regards
P.S. I will post a few photos. Please wait to reply to this message till then.
Photo 18:
