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opening of the traps
- Thread starter tiggs2001
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G
Guest
Guest
Hey Tiggs
First WELCOME!!
Whatever you 'feed' your plant needs to be alive. That might explain why it opened a day later.
When the plant catches a live bug the whole process can take up to a week.
The skeleton of the insect will remian, but the rest of it ( like the soft tissue ) will have been consumed.
I hope this makes sense...
First WELCOME!!
Whatever you 'feed' your plant needs to be alive. That might explain why it opened a day later.
When the plant catches a live bug the whole process can take up to a week.
The skeleton of the insect will remian, but the rest of it ( like the soft tissue ) will have been consumed.
I hope this makes sense...
G
Guest
Guest
Have a seat, go get something to eat, rest room....
When a bug lands in a VFT, there are little hairs that are on both sides of the trap. When the bug brushes against these hairs the trap will close...
The bug will try to get out of the trap ( for obvisous reasons ) and will continue to brush these hairs.
This is how the process starts.
The trap will then start to release its enzymes and break down the bug.
=========
Now..... If these hairs aren't triggered constantly, the plant will assume ( don't ask ) that is was wind, rain, dirt, something that the plant will not 'eat' and will reopen in a day or so not doing anything to whatever was inside.
When a bug lands in a VFT, there are little hairs that are on both sides of the trap. When the bug brushes against these hairs the trap will close...
The bug will try to get out of the trap ( for obvisous reasons ) and will continue to brush these hairs.
This is how the process starts.
The trap will then start to release its enzymes and break down the bug.
=========
Now..... If these hairs aren't triggered constantly, the plant will assume ( don't ask ) that is was wind, rain, dirt, something that the plant will not 'eat' and will reopen in a day or so not doing anything to whatever was inside.
T
tiggs2001
Guest
The trigger hairs have to be stimulated once the trap has shut so that the plant knows it has caught live prey. It saves it from wasting energy trying to digest something such as a leaf which has fallen into the trap.
To feed it prey, catch something and let it go on the plant. Spiders are good to try because you can try and coax them into a trap.
You only need to repot a flytrap if it has become too large for the pot, or the medium it is growing in is too old and has lost it's acidity (which takes a fair few years). The other reason is if you have used tap water - a big no no! Visit www.sarracenia.com/faq.html for more information.
To feed it prey, catch something and let it go on the plant. Spiders are good to try because you can try and coax them into a trap.
You only need to repot a flytrap if it has become too large for the pot, or the medium it is growing in is too old and has lost it's acidity (which takes a fair few years). The other reason is if you have used tap water - a big no no! Visit www.sarracenia.com/faq.html for more information.
There's a list in the VFT section the someone started the other day listing bugs that are bad for the traps.
There is another way to feed a dead bug (but should be fairly fresh) to a trap, but you can do some damage and it takes practice. You can put the dead bug in, and trigger the trap with a piece of your own hair. Keep wiggling the trap's trigger hairs until the trap is almost closed, then pull out the hair. You can gently press the trap completely closed with your fingers - don't force it.
There is another way to feed a dead bug (but should be fairly fresh) to a trap, but you can do some damage and it takes practice. You can put the dead bug in, and trigger the trap with a piece of your own hair. Keep wiggling the trap's trigger hairs until the trap is almost closed, then pull out the hair. You can gently press the trap completely closed with your fingers - don't force it.
Theres only one way to feed a live bug to a vft with out making it escape from the trap and without making yourself bald. Catch the live bug , put it in a plastic jar , put a lid over it , put the jar in the freezer for 1 or 2 minutes , take it out and take a bug with a tweezer ,hurry up because the bug might wake up , drop it in the trap , stimulate the trap so it closes , and wait til the bug wakes up , from that point the bug will keep brushing the trigger hairs and that will stimulate the trap to start it's digestive process .
(Edited by tuyen thi at 5:59 am on May 5, 2002)
(Edited by tuyen thi at 6:22 am on May 5, 2002)
(Edited by tuyen thi at 5:59 am on May 5, 2002)
(Edited by tuyen thi at 6:22 am on May 5, 2002)
Feeding really isn't needed especially outdoors. Plants are able to catch food on there own quite well. Even if the plant doesn't catch anything it's fine with photosynthesis. Some people even have a theory that plants make larger traps when they aren't fed insects so that they can catch insects better.
FlytrapGurl
apple rings.. what more can i say?
WELCOME TO THE BOARDS, TIGGS!!!
Don't feed your VFT moths. They are poisonous to VFTs!
The reason the VFT did not eat the bug:
Well, it goes a little something like this, If the bug is alive, It will land on the VFT's trap, triggering the trigger hairs and the trap shuts.
The bug wiggles around, trieng to escape, and therefore triggers the hairs still more, at this time, the VFT knows it has something that is alive and it closes fully and starts to digest the meal. It can take up to two weeks for the VFT to get done digesting the bug and open again.
However, If the bug is dead:
You drop the bug into the trap and trigger the hairs and it shuts.
Since the bug obviously isn't alive, it doesn't wiggle and try to escape. Therefore it doesn't trigger the hairs, the VFT then figures it's prey got away, so it opens back up.
Don't feed your VFT moths. They are poisonous to VFTs!
The reason the VFT did not eat the bug:
Well, it goes a little something like this, If the bug is alive, It will land on the VFT's trap, triggering the trigger hairs and the trap shuts.
The bug wiggles around, trieng to escape, and therefore triggers the hairs still more, at this time, the VFT knows it has something that is alive and it closes fully and starts to digest the meal. It can take up to two weeks for the VFT to get done digesting the bug and open again.
However, If the bug is dead:
You drop the bug into the trap and trigger the hairs and it shuts.
Since the bug obviously isn't alive, it doesn't wiggle and try to escape. Therefore it doesn't trigger the hairs, the VFT then figures it's prey got away, so it opens back up.
My favorite VFT food is "pill bugs" aka "sow bugs" these are the little ones you find under rocks that look like tiny armidallos. They don't bite, sting or move too fast and they are not strong enough to hurt the traps. You don't even have to stun them in the fridge, just pick one up and it will roll up. The place it in the trap, as it opens up it trigers the plant. Sometimes I help hold the trap for a few seconds to keep it from crawling out.
Marjorie
Marjorie
