Some carnivorous plants evolved to eat poop instead of bugs. And they're better off for it. - Livescience.com

(Image credit: Alastair Robinson)(opens in new tab)A group of former carnivorous plants have given up catching creepy crawlies and instead feed on animal poop.

The plants' animal diets provide them with additional nutrients — primarily nitrogen, as well as phosphorus and carbon — which helps supplement their growth in nutrient-deficient soils.

But a small group of pitcher plants living on the island of Borneo in Malaysia have taken things to the next level by developing a taste for animal droppings.

This dietary switch was first discovered in 2009, when a study published in the journal Biology Letters(opens in new tab) revealed that mountain-dwelling pitcher plants ( Nepenthes lowii) were frequently dining on feces left behind by tree shrews ( Tupaia montana).

"Insect prey is scarce on tropical peaks above 2,200 meters [7,218 feet], so these plants maximize nutritional returns by collecting and retaining fewer, higher-value nitrogen sources," such as animal droppings, Robinson said.

The results show that the higher up the mountain a pitcher plant resides, the more selective and resourceful they must be with their diet to obtain the nutrients they need, the team wrote.