Watch This Crazy Video Of Venus Flytraps Eating Wasps

Written by Katie Melynn Wood
Updated: October 18, 2023
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A Venus Flytrap is a fun plant to own because you can watch them eat their meals. This Venus Flytrap took on wasps. The video begins with wasps buzzing around an open Venus Flytrap. Their black and white stingers look formidable as they move across the plant.

Watch the Amazing Footage Now:

The Venus Flytrap has stiff hairs called cilia on its edges. They remain in place as the wasps buzz around. More wasps eventually join until there are four wasps looking for nectar in the Venus Flytrap, which is exactly where the plant wants them to be.

Venus Flytraps can eat a variety of insects, including flies, ants, and others. Even with their stingers, wasps are no match for the Venus Flytrap.

The wasps feel around for nectar while the Venus Flytrap waits. It closes on air once, the wasp having just left its trap. You can see how the cilia interlock as the plant closes. This time, it is empty. But next time, the wasp won’t be so lucky.

Another small plant attracts two wasps to its surface. The wasps buzz around, stopping to get nectar and explore the plant some more. But neither stay for long. That’s okay for the Venus Flytrap. They can continue to wait.

Eventually, one unsuspecting wasp does become lunch. It climbs over the cilia, triggering them to close. The Venus Flytrap closes quickly to keep the wasp inside. The wasp tries to get out, pushing parts of its body through the small openings between the cilia.

The video shows the Venus Flytrap getting more wasps in its path. Each time it closes over a wasp, the cilia interlock to keep it in place. The plant catches two wasps in its final meal included in the video. However, one manages to escape its clutches before being digested.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Linda Blazic-Mirosevic/Shutterstock.com


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About the Author

Katie is a freelance writer and teaching artist specializing in home, lifestyle, and family topics. Her work has appeared in At Ease Magazine, PEOPLE, and The Spruce, among others. When she is not writing, Katie teaches creative writing with the Apex Arts Magnet Program in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. You can follow Katie @katiemelynnwriter.

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