Venus Fly Trap

Quick Facts 

Name: Venus fly traps 

Diet: Nutrients from the soil and supplements its diet by eating animals such as ants, beetles, grasshoppers, flies, slugs, and even small frogs 

Behaviour: Grow and bloom over summer – dormant during the fall/winter 

Lifespan: 20 years 

Size: Ip to 15cm in diameter and 13cm in height. The traps are around 3.8cm long 

Habitat/Range: Native to coastal bogs of North and South Carolina, USA. 

Threats: Habitat loss and poaching for plant trade 

Conservation Status: Vulnerable 

Names & Nicknames: Venus flytrap, Meadow clams or Tippity Twitchet, though be careful saying that one out loud; it's another phrase for female private parts...

Size: The Little Shop of Horrors got a bit carried away with the size of the Venus fly trap. In reality, they're about 13 cm in height, and the traps are only a little bigger than an SD card.

Scent: Although there's no smell that we could pick up, Venus flytraps produce a sweet nectar that smells irresistible to a tasty fly!

Communication: Venus fly traps chat with other parts of the plant to coordinate catching their prey. When a poor, unsuspecting bug wanders onto its trap, it touches a couple of trigger hairs. This sends an electrical signal shooting down the plant, activating the trap, and wham! A nice, tasty snack.

Favourite hangout: Venus fly traps are very particular about where they hang out. They like places without much nitrogen or phosphorus; otherwise, what's the point of catching insects? They also love the occasional hot weather, like literal fires so that all their competition is wiped out whilst these hardy plants remain standing.

Favourite snack: Getting food through their roots like ordinary plants is just boring. These geniuses love the thrill of the hunt and luring a nice, tasty creature into their trap. They then slowly digest it over the next week, savouring every morsel. They aren't too fussed about what the creature is, be that an ant, spider, slug, or even a small frog!

If you see them: If you see a Venus fly trap growing in the wild, please leave it be! These plants are undoubtedly cool, and unfortunately, this means they can fetch a pretty penny when they're taken from their habitat and sold.

How do we harm them: Since Venus fly traps are so particular about their home, their main threat is habitat loss. By making habitats more resistant to fires and by stopping fires as soon as possible, we're actually harming the Venus fly traps – they rely on this burning cycle to clear dense foliage and reveal the light.

Eating habits: S.L.O.W. and an all-liquid diet. Once the Venus flytrap lures a tasty morsel into its trap, it will spit out a nice cocktail of digestive enzymes that slowly get to work, dissolving and liquifying it to absorb all its nutrients. They chose juice cleanse before it was trendy.

Facts: People think these exotic plants are only found in the depths of the Amazon or the hot and steamy Indonesian rainforest. However, they're native to the United States and endemic to North and South Carolina! Venus fly traps have a cool superpower for a plant: they're fire-resistant. They grow low to the ground in marshes so the moist soil protects them from fires. Plus, the trigger hairs on the traps have heat sensors, so they can sense incoming fires and close up to protect the delicate trigger hairs and insides of the traps.

Who are they in the friendship group: They don’t get out much and are a bit of a health freak. They're on an all-liquid diet and love an extra hot sauna.

How at risk is it?: Vulnerable