Mycarnivore

To many people the Venus Fly Trap is a complete mystery. How can a plant catch and eat swift moving insects? It sounds like something off a dinosaur movie, right? Well, even though the Venus Fly Trap seems out of this world there is actually nothing unnatural about this plant. In fact, there are many other carnivorous plants that eat insects too.

To be considered a carnivorous plant, it must attract, capture, kill and digest insects or other animal life. The Venus Fly Trap does this in a very unique way. It first attracts is prey by secreting a mucus that is sweet s to the insects. Once an insect lands on a leaf, hair like sensors that detect motion inside its mouth must be triggered. After one sensor is moved, the trap gets poised to snap shut. After a second sensor is hit, it snaps shut! Their jaws-of-death move with lightning fast speed to trap the unlucky bug that lands on one of the plant's sweet pads. There is a two-hit requirement that keeps a Venus Fly Trap from closing on water, wind, or a still object such as a leaf. This is a key part of its survival because once the plant snaps shut it takes approximately 12 hours for it to open completely back up, thus making it incapable of getting food during that period.

The Venus Fly Trap will live between 10 and 11 years in proper conditions. They are native to the bogs and swamplands of North and South Carolina. They live in wet sandy and peaty soils that lack nutrition, so catching insects provides the nitrogen for protein formation that the soil cannot. Contrary to popular belief, they are not a tropical plant and can tolerate mild winters by going through a period of dormancy.


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