The Venus Flytrap is a Carnivorous Plant That Defies Evolution
by Owen Borville
July 4, 2020 Updates August 3, 2024
Biology
The Venus Flytrap(Dionaea muscipula) is an insect-eating plant that defies evolution and mainstream scientists have difficulty describing the origin of this plant. The trap is made of two hinged lobes at the end of each leaf. On the inner surfaces of the lobes are hair-like projections that cause the lobes to snap shut when prey come in contact.
The hinged traps are edged with small bristles that interlock when the trap shuts to ensure that the prey cannot get out. The sensory hairs must be touched more than once to cause the lobes to close. The more times the sensory hairs are touched, the more digestive fluids that are produced. The flytrap makes sure that it has a meal before it uses energy to start the digestion process.
The venus flytrap is not the only carnivorous plant, but is one of the few that use motion to trap its prey, making it even more unique. The flytrap has no brain, making its ability even more unique.
The Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant that grows naturally only in North America, particularly North and South Carolina and specifically in bog-like coastal areas with 80 percent humidity. The flytrap requires poor, low-quality soil to grow properly. This is why they are a carnivorous species: their lives depend on the nutrients provided by insects.
When an insect is captured, the flytrap secretes a liquid similar to the way a human stomach does. The flytrap digests the insect very slowly, up to 10 days before the insect is fully digested and the flytrap opens its mouth again. The flytrap cannot digest the exoskeleton or outer bones of the insect and spits it out after digesting the rest.
Although carnivorous, the flytrap cannot digest the same meats and foods that humans do such as ground beef, chicken, pork, and cheese as it could possibly die from being fed these meats. Flytraps can only eat insects, either crawling or flying insects, along with spiders, slugs, and tiny frogs. They also need water, gases, and sunlight like other plants.
Venus flytraps are perennial plants and bloom every year, producing white flowers in addition to the traps. Each trap on the plant can only open and close half a dozen times before it permanently closes and dies. The trap will continue to photosynthesize to provide nutrients to the plant but will be unable to trap more insects until a new trap is grown. The flytrap can live up to 20 years.
When their “jaws” snap shut to trap prey, they actually generate a measurable magnetic field. The magnetic field produced by Venus flytraps is over a million times weaker than Earth’s magnetic field. It is a tiny byproduct of the electrical activity that occurs when the plant’s leaves close.
When an unsuspecting insect brushes against at least two of the sensitive hairs inside the trap, it triggers an action potential. These electrical signals lead to the closure of the leaf lobes. As a result, a magnetic field with a strength of 0.5 picoteslas (comparable to nerve impulses in animals) is generated.
Biomagnetism: While we often associate magnetic fields with animals (like the human brain), this discovery hints at how electric currents are distributed within the Venus flytrap’s trap. It is like performing an MRI scan in humans, but with much weaker magnetic signals due to the plant’s nature.
This rare magnetic field phenomenon had only been detected in two other plants: a single-cell algae and a bean plant. The fact that Venus flytraps exhibit this phenomenon adds to our understanding of plant biology.
These carnivorous plants not only capture prey but also create a subtle magnetic field during the process.
smithsonianmag.com
livescience.com
sciencetimes.com
eurekalert.org
gettyimages.com
by Owen Borville
July 4, 2020 Updates August 3, 2024
Biology
The Venus Flytrap(Dionaea muscipula) is an insect-eating plant that defies evolution and mainstream scientists have difficulty describing the origin of this plant. The trap is made of two hinged lobes at the end of each leaf. On the inner surfaces of the lobes are hair-like projections that cause the lobes to snap shut when prey come in contact.
The hinged traps are edged with small bristles that interlock when the trap shuts to ensure that the prey cannot get out. The sensory hairs must be touched more than once to cause the lobes to close. The more times the sensory hairs are touched, the more digestive fluids that are produced. The flytrap makes sure that it has a meal before it uses energy to start the digestion process.
The venus flytrap is not the only carnivorous plant, but is one of the few that use motion to trap its prey, making it even more unique. The flytrap has no brain, making its ability even more unique.
The Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant that grows naturally only in North America, particularly North and South Carolina and specifically in bog-like coastal areas with 80 percent humidity. The flytrap requires poor, low-quality soil to grow properly. This is why they are a carnivorous species: their lives depend on the nutrients provided by insects.
When an insect is captured, the flytrap secretes a liquid similar to the way a human stomach does. The flytrap digests the insect very slowly, up to 10 days before the insect is fully digested and the flytrap opens its mouth again. The flytrap cannot digest the exoskeleton or outer bones of the insect and spits it out after digesting the rest.
Although carnivorous, the flytrap cannot digest the same meats and foods that humans do such as ground beef, chicken, pork, and cheese as it could possibly die from being fed these meats. Flytraps can only eat insects, either crawling or flying insects, along with spiders, slugs, and tiny frogs. They also need water, gases, and sunlight like other plants.
Venus flytraps are perennial plants and bloom every year, producing white flowers in addition to the traps. Each trap on the plant can only open and close half a dozen times before it permanently closes and dies. The trap will continue to photosynthesize to provide nutrients to the plant but will be unable to trap more insects until a new trap is grown. The flytrap can live up to 20 years.
When their “jaws” snap shut to trap prey, they actually generate a measurable magnetic field. The magnetic field produced by Venus flytraps is over a million times weaker than Earth’s magnetic field. It is a tiny byproduct of the electrical activity that occurs when the plant’s leaves close.
When an unsuspecting insect brushes against at least two of the sensitive hairs inside the trap, it triggers an action potential. These electrical signals lead to the closure of the leaf lobes. As a result, a magnetic field with a strength of 0.5 picoteslas (comparable to nerve impulses in animals) is generated.
Biomagnetism: While we often associate magnetic fields with animals (like the human brain), this discovery hints at how electric currents are distributed within the Venus flytrap’s trap. It is like performing an MRI scan in humans, but with much weaker magnetic signals due to the plant’s nature.
This rare magnetic field phenomenon had only been detected in two other plants: a single-cell algae and a bean plant. The fact that Venus flytraps exhibit this phenomenon adds to our understanding of plant biology.
These carnivorous plants not only capture prey but also create a subtle magnetic field during the process.
smithsonianmag.com
livescience.com
sciencetimes.com
eurekalert.org
gettyimages.com