This week we bring you some facts on the Venus Flytrap!
The Venus Flytrap is a carnivorous plant, which means it eats bugs! Eww!
The Venus Flytrap is a carnivorous plant, which means it eats bugs! Eww!
They are luciously green, with long leaves and stems that have a heart shaped head with a pink cushiony inner. They can also flower, usually in the springtime.
Like all plants, they still need sunlight and water to grow, but get most of their nutrients from insects. This means they can live in areas were the soil isn't as rich in delicious nutrients such as swamps.
Their favourite foods are ants, spiders, beetles and flies. Totally mega gross.
Firstly, the flytrap attacts insects to come over, by oozing tasty nectar. Once they land on the pink cushiony pads, this tickles tiny tiny hairs that let the flytrap know food has arrived. They rely on this technique as they have no eyes.
The flytrap snaps shut, trapping its prey inside. It then produces enzymes that digest all the nutrients from the unlucky bug, this process can take upto ten days. It then reopens, leaving the left overs, and awaits more noms to come by.
Pop the music on pause ^ and check out this video to see the flytrap in action, be warned, it is scary.
The flytrap snaps shut, trapping its prey inside. It then produces enzymes that digest all the nutrients from the unlucky bug, this process can take upto ten days. It then reopens, leaving the left overs, and awaits more noms to come by.
Pop the music on pause ^ and check out this video to see the flytrap in action, be warned, it is scary.
Hope you enjoyed this weeks facts, don't forget to pop by next week for more illustrated science facts.
♥
I never get it why it's called Venus Trap. It's doesn't even the remember the shell from the painting "The birth of Venus" :\
ReplyDeleteOoh that video was crazy! I remember going out to the store in the garden section and checking these out. Some customer walked on over and told me everything about it. I didn't know it took that many days though!
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy, I take less than ten minutes to stuff my face, haha!
DeleteI just watched the video. I started crying. That poor fly. Hahahaha. That little "oh crumbs" caterpillar also make me sad. Venus Flytraps are mean. :(
ReplyDeleteLove this blog :)
ReplyDeleteVenus - Goddess of Love
Flytrap - erm...go figure :P
Interesting...never thought of them as carnivores! Haha.
ReplyDelete