Carnivorous plants have evolved unique strategies to obtain nutrients in environments with poor soil quality. These plants can be surprisingly intelligent, adapting to their surroundings and even interacting with other organisms. For example, the Nepenthus plant can regulate its moisture content to lure and trap insects, while the fanged pitcher plant has a symbiotic relationship with ants, which help the plant digest prey and clean its pitcher. Some plants, like the Trianto occidentalis, can be selectively sticky, catching certain insects while allowing others to land and pollinate. Additionally, some carnivorous plants have formed mutually beneficial relationships with animals, such as the Mountain Tree shrew, which uses the plant as a toilet and provides it with nutrients, and the Hardwick's woolly bat, which roosts in a pitcher plant and provides it with feces as a source of nitrogen. Even the Venus flytrap has a form of "counting" ability, registering the number of touches to determine when to close its trap and start digestion.
Here are the extracted key facts from the text, numbered and in short sentences:
1. Praying mantises are voracious and dangerous insects that prey on other insects and small vertebrates.
2. The water inside a carnivorous pitcher plant has a pH of 7.0, which is safe for humans to drink.
3. The plant nepenthus contains digestive fluids and the remains of half-eaten beetles.
4. Praying mantises suffer from parasites called hair worms.
5. Hair worms begin their life cycle in rivers and ponds, where their larvae penetrate the bodies of aquatic insects.
6. If a praying mantis eats an infected insect, the hair worm will begin to grow and mature in its body.
7. Hair worms manipulate praying mantises into jumping into the water to continue their life cycle.
8. The plant nepenthus rafflesiana has learned to regulate its moisture content to attract more insects.
9. The fanged pitcher plant serves as a home for ants, which live at the base of the pitcher and help the plant extract more nutrients.
10. The ants help the plant by attacking weevils that feed on it and removing the remnants of large prey.
11. Wolf spiders and pink sundews compete for prey, with the spiders building their webs slightly above the ground to catch insects.
12. Crab spiders use the nepenthus plant for their purposes, building nests on its wall and diving into the pitcher to hide.
13. The plant nepenthus has a mutually beneficial relationship with a subspecies of bat, which uses the plant as a shelter and provides the plant with nutrients through its droppings.
14. Mountain Tree shrews use carnivorous plants as toilets, jumping onto the plants, licking the nectar, and defecating inside.
15. The plant has adapted to the visits of the Mountain Tree shrews, with the edge of the pitcher not being slippery to allow the animals to sit quietly.
16. The feces of the Mountain Tree shrews provide the plant with nitrogen, which is necessary for its growth.
17. Some carnivorous plants can be selectively sticky, catching certain insects while allowing others to land on them.
18. The Venus flytrap can count its prey steps, registering the number of touches to avoid false triggering.
19. Three touches activate the production of digestive enzymes in the Venus flytrap.
20. Five touches kick off the digestion process in the Venus flytrap.
Note: These facts are based on the provided text and may not be comprehensive or up-to-date information on the topic.