Vegetables eat insects, researchers say

15:12:20 8th December 2009

Common garden fruits and vegetables including the otherwise-harmless tomato and potato have more in common with the venus fly trap than previously thought.

New research at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew has found 325 new species which are suspected of trapping unwitting insects and absorbing their nutrients, the Daily Mail reports.

The plants catch tiny insects on sticky hairs and, because they have no way of digesting their victims, wait for the dead insects to fall to the earth then absorb their nutrients through their roots.

So while many people keep a bottle of insect killer handy in their garden sheds to keep their tomatoes pristine, the research suggests this might not be necessary.

Head of genetics at Kew Dr Mike Fay told the news provider: "Widely recognised carnivorous plants number some 650 and we estimate that another 325 or so are probable additions - so an increase of about 50 per cent."

However, vegetarians need not worry, as most cultivated varieties of tomato no longer need to consume insects to get much-needed nutrients.

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