A sticky situation

Even when the beaver ponds are empty of beavers, they are home to a wide diversity of other inhabitants.  Insects are especially numerous -- and where insects abound, so too can their consumers.  In particular, the beaver ponds provide an excellent habitat for carnivorous plants, such as pitcher plants and sundews.

A patch of sundews (Drosera sp.).

Around some of the beaver ponds, the sundews form a red carpet that is both enticing and deadly (at least for insects).

A close-up of the leaves with their sticky tentacles.

Each small sundew leaf is studded with dozens of red tentacles, each of which ends in a dewy ball that glistens in the sunlight.

Another view of the leaves.

These sweet droplets attract insects near, then stick to and engulf any hapless insect that comes into contact with them.

A crane fly (Tipuloidea) caught by the sundew.

Insects trapped in this way are digested by the plant, providing an important supplement to the boggy, nutrient-poor soil.