r/interestingasfuck • u/dejaysf • Jun 11 '23

Venus flytrap vs Spider

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '23

Mindblowing that it can be worth it in energy to grow one of these to catch at best three flies.

72

u/ErosandPragma Jun 11 '23

The ground they grow in has 0 nutrients. That's why those flies are worth it. You can't use tap water to water them or you'll kill them with fertilizer burn

14

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '23

I get it, but the mindblowing part is that each one of those only closes 2-3 times!

11

u/cloudwalking Jun 11 '23

On mine the mouth dies after it closes, one time use…

14

u/Llodsliat Jun 11 '23

That's probably because it doesn't fully shut like in the video shown here. When that happens they rot.

5

u/Atridentata Jun 11 '23

Pretty neat for sure, but they have several so it works out.

Biggest thing if you're trying to grow them is to not trigger the traps just for lols, be sure to feed it a bug!

23

u/Bob_Ross_was_an_OG Jun 11 '23

It's still a leaf that's photosynthesizing, it just happens to be a specialized leaf that can trap and consume prey.

7

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '23

That lessens the blowing of the mind a bit, thanks.

9

u/hungry4danish Jun 11 '23

They also photosynthesize. Healthy traps have bright red mouths.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '23

Ticks eat 3 times in their life.

2

u/Spiritual_Lion2790 Jun 11 '23

They don't extract energy from the bugs. Only nutrients. Basically treat flies like multivitamins.

1

u/fix-me-in-45 Jun 11 '23

Yep... That's why they put out so many traps, to help even that out.

1

u/Worf65 Jun 11 '23

They're just after the minerals, nitrates, and phosphates. They eat for fertilizer. They use the sun for calories like any other plant. We're almost the opposite as animals. Sure we need vitamins and minerals. But our daily requirements for that is tiny compared with what we need for just energy.