The Venus fly trap is carnivorous plant that is found in the swamplands of North and South
Carolina in the United States.
The Venus fly trap is a small plant whose structure can be described as a rosette of
four to seven leaves which arise from a short subterranean stem that is actually a bulb-like
object.
Each stem reaches a maximum size of about three to five centimetres depending on the
time of year.
Long leaves with robust traps are usually formed after flowering.
Flower traps that have more than seven leaves are colonies formed by rosettes that have
divided beneath the ground.
The Venus fly trap preys on insects with its uniquely shaped leaves.
Each leaf has two main areas, firstly, a leaf base that is capable of carrying out photosynthesis
and grows out of the ground.
Secondly, its trapping mechanism which is called the leaf blade or lamina which is at
the end of the leaf and is made up of two lobes which are hinged together by a midrib.
In the centre of each trap, there are between two and five trigger hairs on each lobe.
The edge of the trap is lined with teeth which lock together when the trap shuts.
The leaf base of each blade are joined together by what is called the petiole.
Most Venus fly traps will selectively feed on specific prey.Their selection is due to
the available prey and the type of trap used by the organism.
With the Venus fly trap, prey is limited to beetles, spiders, and other crawling anthropoids.
In fact, their diet is 33% ants, 30% spiders, 10% beetles, and 10% grasshoppers with fewer
than 5% flying insects.
The soil that they grow in is lacking in nitrogen and is very acidic.
Because they don't have an ample supply of nitrogen it is difficult for them to synthesise
protein and then grow so in order to supplement their nitrogen supply, they trap and digest
insects which give them what they need.
On the upper part of each side of the trap there are anthorycinins which are little segments
that appear red or purple on the surface.
This colouration draws in most insects.
However, the trap also secretes mucilage which is a type of protein which the insects like.
The Venus fly trap will lay waiting with its leaves open waiting for an insect to drop
onto it.
Once an insect has landed on the leaf, it starts to crawl around lapping up the mucilage.
Eventually, it will stumble on a trigger hair and the trap will snap shut.
The first written reference to a Venus fly trap was made by Arthur Dobbs who was the
British Colonial Governor of North Carolina between 1754 and 1765.
In his letter to Peter Collinson, the English Collector and Botanist in 1759, Dobbs describes
a Venus Fly Trap as a kind of catch fly sensitive which closes upon anything that touches it.