How Does A Venus Flytrap Work?
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Morning snappers!
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You know venus fly traps?
The plants with a mouth…
How do they work??
So imagine you're a fly…
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07b4c5fad1a3488b3e6_G1A.png)
Just flying about.
And suddenly…
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![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07be53f738893095ef3_G1C.png)
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![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07de880bbcf3ba7b4e6_G1E.png)
You catch a whiff of something… super sweet!
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07bfdb4a5b60041111c_G1F.png)
So you go to check it out.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07d3647904fa61d8e13_G1G.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07b67a35c564b692c12_G1H.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07befd5293f389ca2e8_G1I.png)
But there’s a problem…
Venus fly traps have these TINY sensory hairs all over their mouth.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07cff4181186d51a366_G1J.png)
In order to detect their prey…
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07bc3a4e68f4c05d3e7_G1K.png)
Luckily for you a single touch is not enough for a snap.
This is because single hairs would trigger all the time from things like raindrops or something.
So the venus fly traps have developed this scarily clever strategy in order to not waste energy snapping when it's not needed.
They require 2 touches within a 20 second span.
All it takes is ONE more little…
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07b474c08cefb01c256_G1L.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07c440b8d92c28f15a0_G1M.png)
And you’ve been caught…
But that's not the end of the story.
See Venus fly traps don’t just trap you they naturally live in swamps with soil that are nutrient broke…
Meaning they gotta get nutrients from elsewhere…
In this case, those nutrients are you!
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07cc558bd3ca9b7ca42_G1N.png)
So the plant produces a bunch of acidy chemicals…
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07d0967cc09b2347b7d_G1O.png)
That slowly but surely…
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07caa7a5d334b48bcc8_G1P.png)
Break you down.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07b4b4949f22a4986c5_G1Q.png)
Turning you into a delicious and nutrient rich fly soup!
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/669dc07c8aecae03da39a9d4_G1R.png)
Stay Cute,
Reece, Henry & Dylan 🌈
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