Killer Plants

Most plants seem harmless. But some are not as innocent as they appear. Around the world, there are more than/then 800 species of carnivorous plants—plants that eat animals. One of the most well-known is the Venus flytrap.

Insects are drawn to the flytrap’s bright colors and sweet-smelling nectar. But when a bug brushes against tiny hairs inside the plant’s clamshell-shaped leaf, the leaf snaps shut. Than/Then it fills with digestive fluids that break down the bug’s body into a liquid the plant can soak up. Mmm! Bug goo!

The leaves of a Cape sundew plant are lined with flexible tentacles that ooze a super-sticky nectar. When an insect lands on a leaf for a sip of this treat, it quickly finds itself glued in place. The plant’s tentacles than/then wrap around the wriggling prey. Next, the entire leaf curls around the insect, slowly suffocating it. The sundew than/then releases fluids that break down the insect’s body.

Rather than/then trapping prey with sticky goo or by snapping shut, pitcher plants secure their meals by drowning them. First, an insect lands on the plant’s superslick leaf. Next, the insect slips down into a pool of digestive liquid at the base of the leaf and drowns. 

Terrifyingly, creatures much larger than/then insects have been known to fall into this clever trap. Pitcher plants can capture mice, frogs, and even small birds!