The Venus flytrap is an insectivorous plant in which the leaves fold together to trap insects.
When the leaves of the Venus flytrap are open, they are red and smell sweet. Inside the leaves, there are very sensitive, tiny hairs which cause the leaves to prepare to close, if something contacts a hair. They then snap shut only if another contact occurs within approximately twenty seconds of the first strike, making it more likely that the thing that touched its hair is living. Then the Venus flytrap secretes juices to digest the insect.
 |
| Pixabay |
When the leaves of the Venus flytrap are open, they are red and smell sweet. Inside the leaves, there are very sensitive, tiny hairs which cause the leaves to prepare to close, if something contacts a hair. They then snap shut only if another contact occurs within approximately twenty seconds of the first strike, making it more likely that the thing that touched its hair is living. Then the Venus flytrap secretes juices to digest the insect.
The Venus flytrap has a unique adaptation when it comes to pollinator insects. Rather than trapping and consuming these beneficial creatures, Venus flytraps will sometimes grow tall flower stalks to ensure the safety of the pollinators. When the Venus flytrap decides that it has caught a suitable pollinator, it can release it unharmed. The plant recognizes the presence of a pollinator by the specific movements and vibrations it makes while trying to escape. In response, the plant's trap will reopen, allowing the insect to fly away. By sparing the pollinators, the Venus flytrap ensures that it can reproduce successfully through pollination.
It is one of a very small group of plants capable of rapid movement.
The Venus flytrap's diet is 33% ants, 30% spiders, 10% beetles, and 10% grasshoppers, with fewer than 5% flying insects.
It grows in soil that has little nitrogen. The Venus flytrap gets nitrogen from the insects they trap. This nitrogen is used to make intravenous food like proteins and fats.
The Venus Flytrap is only native to one area of the world; the coastal bogs of North and South Carolina in the United States. Specifically they are only found within a 100-kilometer (60 mi) radius of Wilmington, North Carolina.
Because the Venus flytrap naturally grows in very few areas in the Carolinas, park rangers have to keep most of their grow sites a secret to keep them safe from poachers.
Since 2014, it's been a felony to steal a Venus flytrap in North Carolina due to how vulnerable the species is.
People anywhere can grow Venus flytraps in pots. Venus flytraps in pots need water and soil without calcium or nitrogen in it.
The Venus flytrap can live up to 20 to 30 years.
Since 2014, it's been a felony to steal a Venus flytrap in North Carolina due to how vulnerable the species is.
People anywhere can grow Venus flytraps in pots. Venus flytraps in pots need water and soil without calcium or nitrogen in it.
 |
| Pixabay |
No comments:
Post a Comment