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Venus Fly Trap |
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Fly Trap Details
Dionaea muscipula, or the Venus Fly Trap is by far the most popular and well known carnivorous plant. It is almost every time that I mention carnivorous plants that someone tells me they used to have a Venus Fly Trap but it died. These dying plants has led to the rumor that these plants are very hard to grow, but is not true. Most people who know a few very basic growing tips will be able to keep a Venus Fly Trap alive without problem.
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The Venus Fly Trap was the first plant examined for the ability to eat bugs. The botanist who studied this plant, Carolus Linnaeus, named the plant, Dionaea from Dianna, one of the Greek goddesses. Charles Darwin later studied this plant and he indeed concluded that the plant could eat bugs. Darwin used albumen, which is a type of protein commonly used in science experiments, gelatin, and in some cases, small amounts of meat. It is noted, however, that meat will often kill a trap and should not be given to a Venus Fly Trap.
The Venus Fly Trap is a low growing plant with true leaves containing a trap at the end. The leaves may be long, sticking up several inches, or they might be very short and stay near to the ground. If the plant gets enough light, they will have pink tint on the center of the stem and the inside of the trap. If you look very closely, you will be able to see little hairs on the inside of the trap. Usually there are three on each side of the trap, but I have seen four and five as well. If any of these hairs get touched two or more times in a short time, the trap will close.
Once the trap closes, the Venus Fly Trap will determine if something is in there worth eating. If the bug is properly trapped, it will squirm around and continue to touch those hairs. This is the signal that the Fly Trap has a meal. The plant makes enzymes and acids which are compounds that will break down the bug. The bug will actually spill out its insides on the inside of the trap and the plant will absorb it for the nutrients. When the trap has finished its meal in 7-12 days, it will open back up leaving behind the skeleton of the bug. If there is nothing in the trap when it closes, the trap will open back up in about a day.
Geography
The Venus Fly Trap is a plant with a very narrow range of habitat. If you can believe it, it does not live in a tropical rain
forest somewhere, it actually only lives in a very small area in North Carolina and a little bit in South Carolina here in the USA! The range is
actually within 50-100 miles of a town called Wilmington, NC.
Mutants and Varieties
Although there is only one species of Venus Fly Trap, there are many different varieties. I have a few different kinds: Typical, Green Dragon, Red Dragon, and Dentate. In addition to these, there are many types of Fly Traps, but before we get to those, I need to explain Mutants and Varieties. First, without a large knowledge of science, this might not make much sense, but a Mutant is a change in the DNA (building block of all living plants and animals) that often, but not always, makes a change that is not good for the plant. A Variety is a merging of DNA to cause a difference in size or color. If you don't understand this, don't worry about it, as long as you know that all Venus Fly Traps are the same species, that being Dionaea muscipula. There is a nice page with pictures of the different mutants and varieties you can see by clicking here.
Growing Specifics
If you follow some basic principles, a Venus Fly Trap is actually very easy to grow. The soil should be very moist at all times, but should drain easily. I grow fly traps using the Tray Watering Method. Remember to only use plastic pots with the tray watering method to prevent buildup of algae on the side of the pot. The soil for a Venus Fly Trap is a sandy mix of either peat moss or long fiber sphagnum moss. I mix in some vermiculite for better drainage.
The Venus Fly Trap is a temperate plant that needs to have a dormancy period. That means that it needs to 'sleep' for a few months over the year. The best time is in the winter months, since a fly trap can grow nicely outside on a windowsill in central Pennsylvania. I will wrap them in a bag and put them in the refrigerator between Halloween and Thanksgiving and then take them back out about Easter. You should check on them a few times to make sure that they are not growing any mold or fungus. Some people treat their fly traps with a fungicide, or a chemical that prevents fungus from growing, before putting them away. Only adults should treat a plant with chemicals! A fungicide can be purchased in a garden center.
Photogallery
Click on the photos to see larger images.
Venus Fly Trap Seedling A baby Venus Fly Trap next to a dime to show how small the seedlings are. |
Spider Web on Trap As you can see, a spider tried to take on this trap and did not live to tell the tale! |
Spring Leaves A Venus Fly Trap just coming out of dormancy, the long spring leaves will give way to shorter leaves later in the year. |
Bigmouth VFT This Big Mouth variety of Venus Fly Trap can get traps as big as 2 inches! |
The Fang VFT The Fang variety of Venus Fly Trap has long teeth. |
Bed of Fly Traps This bed of Venus Fly Traps was at the 2006 International Carnivorous Plant Society at the Black Jungle display. |
Denate VFT This Venus Fly Trap variety has short teeth that actually look more like teeth than the usual VFT teeth. |
Green Dragon This Venus Fly Trap variety has green stems with a red vein and mouth. |
All information on this site ©2006 State College Carnivorous Plants. Site designed and maintained by Tom Murosky.
Last update January 22, 2007.
I allow free use of all written materials on this site. Easy download PDF files availible
in the resource link of each plant type.
Photographs may contain copyrights from other organizations, you must contact them regarding
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