My mom is an elementary school teacher. One year, while teaching fourth- and fifth-grade science, she decided it would be fun to setup a Venus Flytrap station for her students to look at. Amazed at what they could observe about the carnivorous plant, the kids began excitedly rattling off questions. “How does the fly get in its mouth?” was one question. Thinking that the serrated edges of the Flytrap must have teeth, another kid asked, “How does the plant chew it up and eat it?”

Venus Flytraps are weird – wonderfully weird. They’re oxymoronic, meat-eating plants whose lives are shrouded in mystery for most people, and that’s why I absolutely love them. Until my classes in college, I had no idea how they worked. But now, being the plant nerd that I am, I can’t wait to share.

So, how does the infamous Venus Flytrap manage to actually “eat” insects? That’s something most plants don’t do. Well, as you might expect, the answer is pretty cool. But the reason why Venus Flytraps eat insects is also pretty interesting and provides a good preface to the story.

Venus Flytraps are categorized as carnivorous plants because they eat insects. Perhaps the Venus Flytrap is the most famous, but there are many types of carnivorous plants. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, and the legendary Charles Darwin was fascinated by them all. Some might argue that it was Darwin who spawned the hundreds of years of research that brought us to understand just where and why carnivorous plants exist. When found in the wild – rather than your local plant shop – carnivorous plants are known to live in very humid places with a lot of rainfall. Scientists have also discovered that they often grow in soils that lack some of the nutrients plants typically need to survive – typically nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. So, how does the plant fix this problem? By eating insects, of course! Venus Flytraps and other carnivorous plants, like all plants, do photosynthesize to make their own food,  but the nutrients from insects are an important dietary supplement.

For a Venus Flytrap to have its proverbial cake and eat it, too, the first step is to lure insects to their traps. Scientists believe that the plant species uses both color and smell to attract insects. A greater need for nutrients is associated with more red coloring on insides of the traps of a Venus Flytrap. Studies have shown that individuals having more red on their traps yields a higher number of insects caught than does a solid green individual. This may mean that a decades-old theory of the color red being used to attract insect prey is correct, but the science world doesn’t completely agree on that. When using smell to attract insects, Venus Flytraps use something called mimicry. This is a fun one. They produce chemicals that, to insects, smell similar to flowers… and rotting fruit. Because of this, the plants are able to lure insects that believe they are getting a good meal.

Now, onto the animalistic kill. The Venus Flytrap has little hairs on the edge of each trap called trigger hairs that kind of look like little green teeth. When an insect falls for the plant’s deadly attraction methods and climbs in the trap, it touches those trigger hairs. The plant can sense that the hairs are being moved, and electrical waves made by the insect’s movement also register to the plant that an insect is present. Sometimes, the insect even makes a wound on the plant’s tissue, which also alerts the plant that the insect is inside the trap. All of this causes proteins to be released in the plant, and these proteins cause the trap to close on the insect within seconds of it landing inside. Finally, it’s dinner time. With the trap closed, chemicals called jasmonates are secreted to signal digestion. Digestive enzymes, or chemical catalysts, coat the inside of the trap and break down the insect so that the Venus Flytrap can store its nutrients for energy. No fork needed.

So, there you have it. That’s how a Venus Flytrap lures, catches, and “eats” its insect prey. If all this information got you as excited about Venus Flytraps as I am, you might be wondering where you could see one. Of course, almost any store that sells plants will have a Venus Flytrap growing kit so you can have your very own. But you can also see them in the wild, doing their thing. There are several areas in the United States that boast wild Venus Flytraps for the public to check out. The closest site to Knoxville is Carolina Beach State Park in Carolina Beach, North Carolina. This site has Venus Flytraps and other native carnivorous plants living inside the park! Admission is free, and it is very worth going on the carnivorous plant hike that the park offers. The park rangers who guide the hike were very knowledgeable and visiting is an overall blast. Just make sure not to touch the plants if you go, and especially do not pull them out of the ground – that’s a felony. Keep nature beautiful – leave it be, and enjoy the wonders of the Venus Flytrap !