Mystery of the missing petioles.

[Botanicadenta]

So, I noticed something... odd today with my VFT. It appears to have been attacked!

First off, this is my raccoon-proof cage setup that's there to keep them from digging up the poor thing so that they can get to the water in the tray.

The cage works fine, nothing upturned since, still gets the occasional large ant.

However...

In this picture, the circles on the ground indicate traps separated from the plant and left to rot. Circles on the stems are where said flytraps originated, and X's are where I trimmed them last week, and thus, not necessary in this diagnoses.

So, what appears to have happened is some sort of creature has eaten the green sections of the petiole. I am at least fortunate that it did not leave me with a stub of a plant, not did it attack my little trap sprout.

What could this be? There's been a plague of grasshoppers recently, so my angry eye of rage turns to them in suspicion. It hasn't rained in two weeks so I've ruled out slugs and snails. And whatever it is has to be able to get through the bars, which include frogs and beetles.

Any thoughs? If it is grasshoppers, how do I deter them? Otherwise, hints and tips on methods of control and prevention would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ant]

do you have leaf cutter ants there? (some are native to texas...)

 

[Trapper7]

I'm having the same problem, but whatever is doing it, is not leaving the traps behind like it is on yours. I don't know if I have Leafcutter ants in my area...

 

[Ant]

yah leaf cutters wouldn't leave traps, or that much of the leaves.

 

[Botanicadenta]

it is strange, I'll wait and see when it happens again, but yeah, it seems to prefer green plant matter.

Hopefully my 'pet' frog who camps out on my plant is keeping watch on the more irritating bugs. They'll be hibernating soon though, but so will the bugs...

 

[mmlr38]

That's very weird indeed. I sure hope you figure it out. I'm very curious!

 

[upper]

maybe its human.

 

[Botanicadenta]

you know, a lot of people have said it may be human, but here's the deal:

Why would they leave the traps and half the petiole, while the missing half, there are absolutely no traces of?

There's no evidence of pinching(bruising, tapering, etc. The medium is left undisturbed, and the cut itself is not smooth. If I had a better view, you could see that the cut is arched slightly between the edges and the vein.

Of course, the first thing I did upon discovery was ask the GF if she felt like trimming my plant for me

Otherwise, not many people are actually aware of the fact that I own a VFT, and the people I have alerted to this fact I have yet to build sufficient animosity with in order to encourage vandalism of my humble plant. No neighbor kids either. Even if I did have neighbor kids with the presence of mind to re-fix the cage properly, I'd expect to traps to be gone as 'trophies' and the remaining ones shut by curious fingers.

Although, I suppose, for whatever reason, human interference cannot be ruled out entirely, since the cuts are indeed so meticulous... I just couldn't imagine a motive for such a strange act.

 

[Kayota]

Why do people do anything?

 

[bluebird]

could be a caterpillar, mouse, or shrew I dunno I hope whatever it is stops.

 

[Kayota]

yeah, to me the chew marks look kinda like the damage that a rat could cause... if you could pick up one of the severed traps and take a closer pic I'd be better able to tell.