There is a plant that seems to be straight out of a horror film, the story usually goes: a killer plant takes over a small town and starts growing by eating people until it becomes gargantuan. Well surprisingly, the Venus flytrap is that killer plant, but not for people; for insects. It is interesting to think, but these predator plants also live in North Carolina Florida
The Venus flytrap is scientifically classified as a Dionaea Muscipula[2], and is called so because it is a part of a rare species of plant; which is the Droseraceae family[3] and this consists of carnivorous plants. But calling them carnivorous is questionable because when you think “carnivorous” you think meat eating and insects do not contain meat in them. But surprisingly, both insects and arachnids are from the animalia kingdom. So calling such plants, as the Venus flytrap, carnivorous can be scientifically correct; but the word “insectivorous” can be used as well. The flytraps of the Droseraceae family contain a large amount of mucilaginous, which is a sticky substance that acts like glue……most plants contain amounts of mucilaginous in them whether large or small.[4] How the flytrap works is that at the end of each stem, other than the flowering stem, a leaf is formed that looks like a heart, or a mouth depending how you view it. That leaf has hair sensors on it so that whenever something triggers just one of those hairs the trap, mouth, will close and ensnare whatever insect is inside; but if there is no insect the trap will reopen after a period of time. This works similar to a security system that has floor sensors. When the system is on, and if someone or something just barely touches the floor the alarm will go off alerting the police.
The Venus flytrap not only gets the proteins and nutrients it needs from the prey it catches but because it is a plant it still uses photosynthesis, and extracts energy from the sun. Unlike mammals, which consume and digest their food, carnivore (or insectivore) plants do not digest their prey. They take what they need from the unfortunate insect who lands in their trap, and usually what the plants are looking for are quantities of nitrogen and phosphorous.[5] The reason the flytrap uses both photosynthesis and collecting nutrients from insects is because of the environment they live in. In most boggy and marshy areas the sun barely gets through to these plants, and so if they did not use the technique of catching insects and taking the nutrients from them, they would all die out.[6] After enticing its prey with its sweet nectar the Venus flytrap will close around the insect when the hairs are triggered, and the insect will be trapped because of the “teeth”[7] of the plant; which is why it can be compared to a mouth. But because insects aren’t the only things to set the trap off, the Venus flytrap is unique in that if a leaf or branch triggers trap, after a day it will reopen, because it knows it wasn’t an insect that it caught; and how the plant knows it’s an insect is because the insect will let out acids from their body when captured.[8] The process after this is that the cell walls of the trap will tighten around the insect, after knowing for sure it is one, and then will excavate through the insect to find the proper proteins it needs to dissolve them into itself, meanwhile destroying any bacteria and fungi it finds, and then using its enzymes to liquefy the soft parts of the bug and consume it.[9] After the leaf of the Venus plant is finished absorbing the parts of the insect it needs, it will reopen to allow the exoskeleton of the insect to be blown away, so the trap can be cleared to be used again. Then after a few meals () of insect-eating the leaf trap of the plant will close up to allow photosynthesis to work on it and grow it, for about two to three months.[10] So even though the plant gets some of its food source from insects it is mostly grown by the sun; which is typical in all plant species.
Even though the Venus flytrap is considered on the extinct list to be vulnerable they are commonly cultivated and farmed. Many people grow the flytrap because they are interested in watching the carnivorous plant work. But because Venus flytraps live in marshy areas many don’t survive being domestically grown, and different mutated versions of the Dionaea Muscipula are created because of this.[11] It is amazing to think that such fragile and delicate greenery is actually capable of providing for itself by “biting” back. Plants are particularly seen as objects and not a living thing, but they are indeed living species and this is clearly seen through carnivorous (insectivorous) plants like the Venus flytrap. The plant knows exactly how to survive in its habitat and is be the epitome of Darwin Darwin
