Ɛpsilon

To W. M. Canby   7 May 1873

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

May 7 1873

Dear Sir

I thank you very sincerely for the leaves, of which I have examined 14 with great interest.1 The results support my anticipation that the leaves are adapted to allow of the smaller fry escaping. Eight of the 14 leaves had caught beetles of relative considerable size. There were also a good-sized spider & a scolopendra—

Three of the leaves had caught ants. I wish the leaves had been of full size, but I think my results may be trusted.2

With cordial thanks for your kindness | yours very faithfully | Ch. Darwin

LS

1
CD had asked Canby to open some old leaves of Dionaea (Venus fly trap) to see the size of insects they captured. He had supposed that minute insects would escape through the apertures at the base of the spikes on the edge of the leaf. See letter to W. M. Canby, 19 February 1873, and letter from W. M. Canby, 22 April 1873. Scolopendra is a genus of centipedes; only Scolopendra viridis is native to North Carolina.
2
CD described the leaves and their prey in Insectivorous plants, pp. 312–13.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8904,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8904