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Insect in Trap

A moth landed in one of my traps and when the trap closed, maybe 1/3 of the month was sticking out of the trap. Is this ok and will the trap digest it all or just the parts inside the trap?

Also, how long will it take to digest and re-open? and what about traps that only half closed, how long till they re-open?
 
it depends on the health of the plant in general for when it might reopen. I had plants finish digestion in a week to more than a month. However, generally moth eating leaves rot. So don't expect it to reopen again...however, don't worry...it will still get some nutrients from it. You can definately see some growth spurt. :)
 
eek! either push it all the way in, or get it out! Half of a cricket was sleft outside one of my biggest traps, and i shrugged it off and said 'wahtever'. Well, when the cricket dies, the parts that aren't sealed up inside of it are left exposed to the outside world! The part sticking out began to rot away, and the rotting spread to the inside of the trap. The trap turned black within 6 days, and i had to remove it. SO either remove the moth fully, or push it all the way in!
 
ok i'll try to get it in, but why does moth eating rot the traps?
 
becos moths are generally very hairy, fat, big and cause a lot of hinderance with their wings in the trap. They invite fungal outbreak or probably bacteria buildup and cause the trap to rot. I personally wouldn't worry...but I know that when I started out, if this like this happen, I would definately worry un-necessarily. :p Its up tp u. If your VFT is healthy...and u don't mind loosing a single leaf..then leave it there...if not, see if u can remove it.

BUT..warning: its going to be a slimy goo in the trap.
 
Just let it be. This stuff happens in nature all the time. You may even catch a spider later on trying to scavange the moth remains for an easy meal.

These plants have survived amazingly in the wild under worse conditions.

xvart.
 
I've had plenty of traps catch huge meals with half the insect sticking out. They've sealed, digested most of the insect and reopened for another meal.

Sometimes traps will get bacteria in and the leaf will rot, but that can happen with old traps and even the smallest meals. Plenty of air circulation means trap rot incidences are kept to a minimum.
 
Awsome, sounds good

so it will take about a week to digest this moth and re-open?
 
I had my VFT outside today and it looks like it caught something for itself so now theres 2 insects being digested by the VFT. Is this good for it and will it do more harm then good?
 
  • #10
the more the merrier :3

i have a trap that caught two ladybugs doing the horizontal tango - at least that is my only explanation as to why two round dots wre in a sealed up trap >.> it'll digest in normal time, but will be twice as good!

>.>

okay, i read that wrong.. what i MEANT to say was:

it may take a little bit longer to digest them both, since energy is now being split between two traps. However, you can have a nifty scientific study! watch the traps and document them! with 2 actively digesting traps, document how long it takes for them to open - then, feed one trap (one of the traps that was involved in the dual trap study), then document the timing of that one! try using a similar food, and go at it!
 
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  • #11
I had my VFT outside today and it looks like it caught something for itself so now theres 2 insects being digested by the VFT. Is this good for it and will it do more harm then good?

It's fine. Again, in nature, there is no way for the plants to control if all or none of their traps are filled with bugs. What happens, happens. Just think about how they behave and respond in nature. In the wild, there is nobody standing over them babying them along making sure they get the proper amount of nutrition or they get every last leg from the bug hanging out of their mouth or limiting how much they eat.

xvart.
 
  • #13
I left my plant outside for two days and this morning, every trap was closed and has an insect in it, it was actually quite scary. There were tons of spider and cricket legs hanging out of the traps. So with that, now theres 1 moth, 1 fly, 1 spider, 2 crickets at once being digested by my VFT.
 
  • #14
I left my plant outside for two days and this morning, every trap was closed and has an insect in it, it was actually quite scary. There were tons of spider and cricket legs hanging out of the traps. So with that, now theres 1 moth, 1 fly, 1 spider, 2 crickets at once being digested by my VFT.
Now that's a carnivorous plant!!!:-O
 
  • #15
hungry bugger eh? lol.

that's perfectly fine - though, this kind of skews any scientific study you may have started. See how long it takes for the last trap to open - if its after 10-12 days, i would really like to know fo my own scientific study.
 
  • #16
The trap which contained the moth has started to turn black already after about 5 days.
 
  • #17
moths aren't generally the best insects to feed on. But don't worry...its not a big deal. :)
 
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