Les Sarracenia ..Pitcher plant...the plant that eats Asiatic hornets. .(BBC report)..or does it....?

General Discussion
1

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33847252
Anyone know if this report is a fairy tale, or not?

I can buy the plants online...if I can be sure which one of the huge variety of Sarracenia, it is...and if it works.

Is it really selective? Not a bee eater, as well as a hornet eater?

No useful information, or plants on sale, so far...in any local pepiniere..

Noooooo. Any info from anyone, please?

2

Thank you, Brian and Debby...it sounds very iffy...but is supposed to backed up by Nantes Horticultural dept? Serious sci. Stuff...I would have asked chez that org, before, except my French remains (sorry)... pre 96 pidgin...

BUT....your lack of faith inspires me to better investigation...

Who is pushing very inadequate info here? The beeb, or NH...? Let's get the internet cleaned up of rubbish information...I almost blew x euros on a set of five...

Perhaps beeb has a thing going ...with a couple of online carnivorous plant sellers, in France...

A powerful scam..might easily spring from such convoluted roots....

3

I've grown a variety of them off and on for years Jeanette so will be very surprised if they do! Try looking at this website, littleshopofhorrors.co.uk, you can email them questions, they're really helpful & know what they're talking about, which is more than can be said of the beeb :)

4

I wish - we have Sarracenia minor, which is too small for any hornets, and the hanging bigger one Nepenthes which are big enough. As big as they may be, the nectar does not attract bees, wasps or hornets although the occasional quite small solitary wasp does wander in, probably interested in the flies stuck in the water. Although hornets feed on nectar or rotting fruit a bit, they are actually carnivores and not much interested in the smell of Nepenthes. There are lots of myths about frogs, mice and so on but that remains to be proven for me, mice nibble their way back out and frogs hang about and even quite little ones launch out with a massive leap when they are ready. I would love to have a plant that ate the hornets, this year instead of the Asian ones we have the regular European ones near my bees in quite large numbers...