Pitcher plant lures insects with sweet nectar spiked by nerve toxin

The carnivorous pitcher plant Nepenthes khasiana has been found to lace its sugary nectar with a toxic nerve agent to subdue prey. The plant oozes sweet liquid along the rim of its pitchers to attract insects, especially ants, but the nectar contains isoshinanolone, a compound that disrupts the nervous system, causing sluggish movement, muscle weakness and disorientation. Combined with water-absorbing sugars that make the rim extremely slippery, the toxin increases the chance that insects fall into the pitcher, where they are digested. The strategy helps the plant obtain nutrients in the poor soils where it grows.