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The Pitcher Plant and the Bee

This Memorial Day weekend I went for my first visit to the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden off of Independence Boulevard in Wilmington, North Carolina. I discovered an array of pitcher plants including the species pictured Sarrancenia Leucophylla. It was fascinating how many Bumble Bees or (Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera, Family: Apidae, Genus: Bombus, and unsure of this species?) were flying around the plants and even crawling into them. I began to wonder if the bees had a strictly mutualistic relationship with the pitcher plants acting solely as pollinators. Also, I saw quite a few bees get stuck in the tubes of the pitcher plant and it appeared that the pitcher plant could be acting as a predator to the bees. Were the pitcher plants luring them into their tubes to provide a source of mineral nutrients for the plant? After doing some research, I found that it is not evolutionarily beneficial for pitcher plants to consume their own pollinators, thus why they have two distinct parts for each function. The flowering part of the pitcher plant (shown in the background of the photo) is the part responsible for attracting pollinators. This Memorial Day weekend I went for my first visit to the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden off of Independence Boulevard in Wilmington, North Carolina. I discovered an array of pitcher plants including the species pictured Sarrancenia Leucophylla. It was fascinating how many Bumble Bees or (Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera, Family: Apidae, Genus: Bombus, and unsure of this species?) were flying around the plants and even crawling into them. I began to wonder if the bees had a strictly mutualistic relationship with the pitcher plants acting solely as pollinators. Also, I saw quite a few bees get stuck in the tubes of the pitcher plant and it appeared that the pitcher plant could be acting as a predator to the bees. Were the pitcher plants luring them into their tubes to provide a source of mineral nutrients for the plant? After doing some research, I found that it is not evolutionarily beneficial for pitcher plants to consume their own pollinators, thus why they have two distinct parts for each function. The flowering part of the pitcher plant (shown in the background of the photo) is the part responsible for attracting pollinators.

Polar Bear Feeding

This weekend I visited the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, North Carolina. I saw so many fascinating organisms there, but this Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) during his feeding time was one of the most striking. Polar Bears are apex predators as well as a keystone species in their Arctic habitats. Predominately carnivores, Polar Bears love to eat harbor seals. However, they will scavenge when their primary prey is in shortage. Human influence and global warming has greatly impacted the Polar Bear populations. In their Arctic habitats, Polar Bears live on ice and will swim to travel and to find food. As the ice melts more rapidly due to climate change, Polar Bears have increased chances of dying trying to hunt their food with not as many areas to land for a rest in between swims. Also, Poaching has negatively effected Polar Bear populations. Sadly, the Polar Bear is considered a "vulnerable" species with scientists predicting a very grim future for the future populations of Polar Bears. Source: www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/bears-of-the-last-frontier-polar-. This weekend I visited the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, North Carolina. I saw so many fascinating organisms there, but this Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) during his feeding time was one of the most striking. Polar Bears are apex predators as well as a keystone species in their Arctic habitats. Predominately carnivores, Polar Bears love to eat harbor seals. However, they will scavenge when their primary prey is in shortage. Human influence and global warming has greatly impacted the Polar Bear populations. In their Arctic habitats, Polar Bears live on ice and will swim to travel and to find food. As the ice melts more rapidly due to climate change, Polar Bears have increased chances of dying trying to hunt their food with not as many areas to land for a rest in between swims. Also, Poaching has negatively effected Polar Bear populations. Sadly, the Polar Bear is considered a "vulnerable" species with scientists predicting a very grim future for the future populations of Polar Bears. Source: www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/bears-of-the-last-frontier-polar-...

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