Mar 14 2019
Even though Venus Fly Traps are widely available as cultivated plants, they are very rare and endangered in nature, only native to North and South Carolina. The snap trap mechanism in a Venus Fly Trap, Dionaea muscipula J. Ellis, is triggered by hairs on the surface of the specialized leaves. Once these are triggered the two leaves can close in less than a second! The more the hairs are triggered by a trapped insect moving around, the tighter the leaves seal around their prey. Once sealed the leaves secrete digestive enzymes, absorbing the nutrients from their prey in 10-12 days.