The Venus Flytrap

Description

• It is a carnivorous plant• It catches prey using leaves

that snap shut• Despite the name, just 5%

of its total diet is flying insects!

Habitat

• Venus flytraps are found in nitrogen- or phosphorus-poor environments.

• Environments include bogs and wet savannahs.

• They are only native in North and South Carolina.

Adaptations

• They have adapted to their nitrogen-poor environments by catching insects to provide the nitrogen.

• They go through winter dormant (asleep)!• They developed their “snap-happy” technique

to catch larger insects to get more nutrients.

The “jaws of death” (to an insect)

• Attracts insects using nectar• Trigger hairs detect motion• 2 trigger hairs touched =

SNAP! Venus flytrap is snap-happy.

• Digestive juices dissolve the insect.