The capturing and digestion of insects by a pitcher plant is a special form of nutrition that is

Analyze the question The question asks what type of nutrition a pitcher plant uses when it captures and digests insects.

Explain the concept

• Autotrophic: the organism makes its own food from simple inorganic substances, usually by photosynthesis.
• Heterotrophic: the organism depends on ready-made organic food from other organisms.
• Saprophytic: the organism feeds on dead or decaying organic matter.
• Chemosynthetic: the organism makes food using energy from chemical reactions, as some bacteria do.

Solution

1. A pitcher plant has green leaves and photosynthesizes, so it is partly autotrophic.
2. It also traps insects in its pitcher-shaped leaves and digests them with enzymes, mainly to get nitrogen, because it grows in nitrogen-poor soil.
3. Taking in and digesting living animals is feeding on organic food made by other organisms. That is heterotrophic nutrition, specifically the insectivorous (carnivorous) type.
4. It is not saprophytic because the insects are captured alive, not taken from decaying matter.
5. It is not chemosynthetic because it does not use chemical-reaction energy to make food.
6. Autotrophic describes its photosynthesis, but not the capture and digestion of insects, which is what the question asks about.

Answer The correct option is A. heterotrophic.

Tip Insectivorous plants such as the pitcher plant, sundew and Venus flytrap are autotrophic and heterotrophic at once. When a question focuses on catching and digesting insects, choose heterotrophic.