Nature never ceases to amaze me, and the Venus Flytrap is one of those things that Mother Nature really outdid herself with.
You might think that you would only see these plants in the Amazon rainforest, or some other tropical, exotic location, but that’s actually not the case. Venus Flytraps are actually native to the wetlands of South Carolina and North Carolina, and were discovered there in 1759.
The Flytraps are one of the few carnivorous plants in the world, and one of the only ones to use motion to trap bugs and other prey. They primarily feed on arachnids and insects, and it is all pulled off thanks to their intricate trapping structure.
On the inside of the Venus Flytrap, small hairs called “trigger hairs” or “sensitive hairs” sit and wait for potential insects to come crawling by. Once first contact is made, the plant prepares to shut its “mouth,” but only if there is an additional contact made within a twenty second period.
When the Venus Flytrap is sure that it has a worthy prey within its mouth, it snaps shut, and can do so in as fast as a tenth of a second. Digestion of the trapped insect or arachnid begins shortly after the snapping shut motion when the Flytrap knows for sure that it has the bug trapped within its teeth.
Honestly pretty terrifying stuff, and you honestly feel bad for the insects that meet their demise at the hands of the Venus Flytrap. However, I’m not a huge fan of spiders, so I don’t necessarily feel any remorse watching this massive spider get devoured by the Flytrap.
In the video, just as the plant typically does, the spider walks around on the “triggers” for a moment before the Flytrap starts to close up. Once it does, the perfectly positioned teeth create a trap that not even this big spider can break out of.
There are a couple of moments where it looks like the spider is able to pry open the plant’s mouth a bit, but never enough for it to escape. Eventually the footage is sped up, showing that the spider struggled for a bit, then eventually succumbed to the Venus Flytrap. Again, does not seem like the best way to go…
I have no idea why Brad Pitt’s monologue from the 2004 movie Troy is overlaid on the footage, but just try to disregard that and focus in one the spider getting eaten by the Flytrap. If you hate spiders, you might even let a fist pump loose as you cheer on the plant.
Check it out:
