Adhesive Strength of the Insect-Trapping Glue of a Plant (Befaria racemosa)

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The buds, abaxial surface of petals, and developing fruit of the ericaceous shrub Befaria racemosa are coated with a viscous adhesive material of unknown chemical nature, in which insects, including such robust species as honey bees and horse flies, may become inescapably trapped in large numbers. Vis à vis insect cuticle, the material has the same adhesive strength as a commercial product (Tanglefoot) marketed specifically for trapping insects. The glue may protect Befaria against herbivores and nectar thieves but may also enable the plant to be a facultative insectivore. We suggest that nitrogenous decay products leaching into the soil from the dead insects trapped by the plant may add organic nutrient to the acid sandy soil in which Befaria characteristically lives.