3

enter image description hereI just got my baby venus fly trap and it just wont eat. None of the mouths even open.

angel gilbert
  • 31
  • 1
  • 1
    It is a little difficult to tell from the photo, but it looks like it might be Nepenthes (pitcher vine) rather than Dionea (Venus Fly Trap). See images on google: https://www.google.com/search?q=small+nepenthes&sxsrf=ALeKk00eFz-ItpNRDD7p1wfJ_8_oVwJMNQ:1587663664914&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiohJSGjP_oAhUDRK0KHfzbCkAQ_AUoAnoECBMQBA&biw=1369&bih=811 – winwaed Apr 23 '20 at 17:42
  • 1
    Nepenthes are vine pitcher plants that live in rainforests. Yes they still trap and eat flies, but tropical conditions can be harder to produce to their liking. – winwaed Apr 23 '20 at 17:43
  • i appreciate you asking this question. :) i can verify that is not a Venus Flytrap. I do not know these plants well enough to say what specific insects they may eat or how they fare in the wild. – flowerbug Apr 25 '20 at 14:26

1 Answers1

1

The reasons that it won't eat the bugs may be because the bugs you try to feed it are dead.

The thing is, that this plant will only snap if

  • two (or more) of the small hairs inside of its' leave will be touched.
  • the same hair is touched in a time period <30[seconds].
  • Moreover, it will secrete the eroding enzymes only if the hairs inside will be touched constantly (i.e. if the bug inside will be trying to escape).

It does it mainly to conserve energy, to not be triggered by any spec of dust that lands on it, because the snapping function does require quite a lot of energy, which in the natural habitat of this plant is scarce (that's exactly is the reason it traps bugs - to get more nutrients).

Cheers.

Michael
  • 141
  • 1
  • 1
  • 6
  • Good & informative answer; also, since the illustration may indicate a different variety of plant than as named in the question, if have additional suggestions re the plant in the illustration could also be helpful. – M H Jul 29 '20 at 19:14