Venus Flytrap

The Venus flytrap is one of the most amazing plants on Earth. It catches and eats insects! This carnivorous plant has special leaves shaped like open jaws with tiny trigger hairs inside. When a bug touches these hairs, the trap snaps shut in less than a second.

How It Works

The Venus flytrap has tiny trigger hairs on the inside of its leaves. An insect must touch at least two hairs within 20 seconds for the trap to close. This prevents the plant from wasting energy on things that are not food, like raindrops. Digesting an insect takes about 10 days.

Where They Grow

Venus flytraps grow naturally in only one small area: the wetlands near Wilmington, North Carolina. They grow in poor, acidic soil that lacks nutrients. That is why they evolved to eat insects, to get the nutrients the soil cannot provide.

Fun Facts

• Venus flytraps can count! They wait for two hair triggers before closing.
• The trap can close in about one-tenth of a second.
• They grow naturally in only a small area of North and South Carolina.

Did You Know?

Charles Darwin called the Venus flytrap the most wonderful plant in the world. Each trap can only open and close about 5 to 7 times before it wears out and is replaced by a new one!