Nepenthes infauna

These include fly and midge larvae, spiders, mites, ants, and even a species of crab, Geosesarma malayanum.

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.

Nepenthephiles are organisms that are frequently found in Nepenthes pitchers, but which are not completely dependent on them at any stage of their lives.

These are usually found if a pitcher becomes overloaded with putrefying prey, when it may be colonised by the larvae of various fly species.

In a 1991 study,[3] a wide diversity of animals was found in pitchers of Nepenthes ampullaria: Carrion feeders: Filter feeders: Detritus feeders: Nipping predators (can swim in the fluid, mandibles move against one another in a horizontal plane): Hooking predators (can only crawl, mandibles move parallel to one another in a vertical plane): Terrestrial predators: Nepenthebiont Diptera:

Infaunal mosquito larvae in the pitcher fluid of Nepenthes rajah
Accumulation of prey, such as in this Nepenthes rafflesiana pitcher, may attract nepenthexenes.
Recently drowned insects, such as this large beetle caught by Nepenthes ovata , constitute basal species in the pitcher food web and are consumed by the infauna.
Moth caught by an upper pitcher of Nepenthes neoguineensis
No infaunal organisms have been recorded from the pitchers of Nepenthes aristolochioides . It is thought that the structure of the traps may serve to disorientate emerging adults and so infaunal species may avoid colonising them.
In 1991, a study was carried out on the pitcher infauna of Nepenthes ampullaria , a species that is partially detritivorous .