page_title: Nepenthes infauna
hierarchical_section_title: Nepenthes infauna
caption_attribution_description: Nepenthes neoguineensis
context_page_description: Nepenthes infauna are the organisms that inhabit the pitchers of Nepenthes plants. These include fly and midge larvae, spiders, mites, ants, and even a species of crab, Geosesarma malayanum. The most common and conspicuous predators found in pitchers are mosquito larvae, which consume large numbers of other larvae during their development. Many of these animals are so specialised that they cannot survive anywhere else, and are referred to as nepenthebionts.
  The complex relationships between these various organisms are not yet fully understood. The question of whether infaunal animals "steal" food from their hosts, or whether they are involved in a mutually beneficial association has yet to be investigated experimentally and is the source of considerable debate. Charles Clarke suggests that mutualism is a "likely situation", whereby "the infauna receives domicile, protection and food from the plant, while in return, the infauna helps to break down the prey, increase the rate of digestion and keep bacterial numbers low".
context_section_description: Nepenthes infauna are the organisms that inhabit the pitchers of Nepenthes plants.  These include fly and midge larvae, spiders, mites, ants, and even a species of crab, Geosesarma malayanum.  The most common and conspicuous predators found in pitchers are mosquito larvae, which consume large numbers of other larvae during their development.  Many of these animals are so specialised that they cannot survive anywhere else, and are referred to as nepenthebionts.
  The complex relationships between these various organisms are not yet fully understood.  The question of whether infaunal animals "steal" food from their hosts, or whether they are involved in a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) association has yet to be investigated experimentally and is the source of considerable debate. Charles Clarke suggests that mutualism is a "likely situation", whereby "the infauna receives domicile, protection and food from the plant, while in return, the infauna helps to break down the prey, increase the rate of digestion and keep bacterial numbers low".
caption: Moth caught by an upper pitcher of Nepenthes neoguineensis
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