Insectivorous plants benefit from trapped, dead insects as a source of nutrients. On the other hand, most of these plants also depend on free-moving, live insects as pollen vectors for sexual reproduction. This pollinator-prey conflict can be resolved from temporal separation of flower and trap development through the life-history of individuals. Spatial segregation of both systems can also resolve this conflict, as illustrated here by two Drosera species (D. spatulata and D. arcturi; Figure 1A-B). Other species (such as D. auriculata; Figure 1C) are able to produce distinct chemical signaling profiles for flowers and traps, thus relying on the ability of pollinators to differentiate between these chemical cues. Nonetheless, even in the presence of such traits, potential pollinators may end trapped by their mutualistic partners.

El-Sayed, Ashraf M., John A. Byers, and David M. Suckling. “Pollinator-Prey Conflicts in Carnivorous Plants: When Flower and Trap Properties Mean Life or Death.” Scientific Reports 6 (February 18, 2016): 21065. doi:10.1038/srep21065. el-sayed_et_al_2016_pollinator-prey_conflicts_in_carnivorous_plants.pdf