Have You Ever Encountered A Carnivorous Plant?

Have You Ever Encountered A Carnivorous Plant

?

You've always hear of carnivorous animals, but what about plants? Sure, you may have seen the movies depicting an orchid snatching up a small human, but there's more truth to it than just Hollywood. There really are plants that eat animals. The most popular carnivorous plant is a Venus Fly Trap. Their way of trapping and digesting their prey makes you watch in awe and amazement for what mother nature has created. Venus Fly Traps are wonderful plants to behold, but they are rarely found in nature.

To be considered a carnivorous plant, it must attract, capture, kill and digest insects or other animal life. The Venus Fly Trap does this in a very unique way. It first attracts is prey by secreting a mucus that is sweet s to the insects. Once an insect lands on a leaf, hair like sensors that detect motion inside its mouth must be triggered. After one sensor is moved, the trap gets poised to snap shut. After a second sensor is hit, it snaps shut! Their jaws-of-death move with lightning fast speed to trap the unlucky bug that lands on one of the plant's sweet pads. There is a two-hit requirement that keeps a Venus Fly Trap from closing on water, wind, or a still object such as a leaf. This is a key part of its survival because once the plant snaps shut it takes approximately 12 hours for it to open completely back up, thus making it incapable of getting food during that period.

The Venus Fly Trap will live between 10 and 11 years in proper conditions. They are native to the bogs and swamplands of North and South Carolina. They live in wet sandy and peaty soils that lack nutrition, so catching insects provides the nitrogen for protein formation that the soil cannot. Contrary to popular belief, they are not a tropical plant and can tolerate mild winters by going through a period of dormancy.

Because these plants go through periods of dormancy and other special needs like keeping their soil damp when the humidity is low, they can be slightly more difficult to cultivate than your typical house plant. So when purchasing a Venus Fly Trap be sure to follow the directions and you can have a healthy carnivorous plant. This can be a great family pet that requires little effort and can be shipped right to your door through http://mycarnivore.com/, other internet sites, and occasionally can be found in local stores.

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