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I am getting a venus fly trap and i need to know what it eats and what inviroment it should live in. Can it eat lady Bugs?


Thanks,
nolimits
 
Hey , welcome to the forums . First , heres a really helpful site to go to : www.sarracenia.com , go to the FAQ . Then go the the vft forum here and go to the vft care sheet posted on top , that should really help you and yes they can eat lady bugs
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Good Luck ,
Goldtrap
 
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Dont feed them hambergers. [wrong]Give them low sodium purified water[/wrong] (oops i was wrong, that does happen sometimes) and high humidity, high light, and keep them permenantly wet. Respect their dormancy requierments

There is  great site you should visit, hares a hotlink to www.sarracenia.com/faq.htmlHere for you to get detailed information.

[I'm] Assuming this your first Carnivorous Plant i suggest a easier plant than
the venus fly trap, Like D. Capensis ,one more forgiving for begginers, like me!

Its a interesing question, ladybugs. Not much will eat them because they are toxic, smell bad, fake death, and secrete that nasty yellow stuff. I have no idea why some carnivorous plants will eat them, as almost nothing else will.
 
My first CP was a Venus Flytrap.  If you use pure water (distilled, rain, or Reverse Osmosis (RO) water) and plant them in pure sphagnum peat moss, they are no more difficult than any other CP in my experience.  Yes, VFTs can eat ladybugs, but since lady bugs eat aphids, I prefer to let them live.  If you grow your VFT outside, they will catch plenty of bugs on ther own.  Definitely check out the care sheets and site given by Finch and goldtrap2690.  They will give you a lot of helpful information about VFTs.  You can also use the search feature on the boards to find answers to specific questions.

Welcome to the Forums!!

smile.gif

BCK

Oh yeah, don't sweat the dormancy. Come fall there will be a gazillion posts with dormancy questions as well as a pinned faq sheet or two answering the questions.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Finch @ Feb. 19 2004,18:58)]Give them low sodium purified water
Do NOT give VFTs water with sodium of any kind. ONLY water with distilled, rain, or water from a reverse osmosis filter. Give them lots of full sunlight and stand them in a tray of water about 1/2 inch deep and they pretty much take care of themselves. If you buy your VFT from Petflytrap they will include a very good basic care sheet with your plant.

Good luck
Steve
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]
Do NOT give VFTs water with sodium of any kind. ONLY water with distilled, rain, or water from a reverse osmosis filter

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Oops i was wrong. i had read somewhere that they needed low sodium. Sorry

But all of you are lucky compared to me, 'cause you can get a VFT. my father says i cannot get a plant that requiers a cold winter dormancy, because he wont let me use the refrigerator. Its too dry in the house, and the heating vents are right in front of the windows, removing any remaining mosture in the air
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Hello welcome to the forums

I would really discourage feeding a venues Flytrap lady bugs. A few years ago I bought one of the bags of about 500 lady bugs to eat a small aphid problem I had with in day or two ever single one had been caught but a flytrap sometimes as many as 3 or 4 were in one trap. Almost 95% of the traps turned black and died with in a week. Most of the Plants survived but it took a while before they looked there best again.

thanks
-Jeremiah-
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]they can eat lady bugs

[b said:
Quote[/b] ] Almost 95% of the traps turned black and died with in a week

These are contradictory answers. I have nooooooo experence in CP so please Always take my advice with grains of salt. And if you do that, [lame joke]watch your sodium intake too.[/lame joke]
 
Well they can eat lady bugs but it may not be good for them.

thanks
-Jeremiah-
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Jeremiah Harris @ Feb. 20 2004,09:18)]in day or two ever single one had been caught but a flytrap sometimes as many as 3 or 4 were in one trap. Almost 95% of the traps turned black and died with in a week.
This sounds more like an overfeeding problem than what was fed. The traps are designed to only catch one bug at a time. Catching 3 or 4 at once is about the same as feeding it too large of a bug. It cant digest it all before it begins to rot inside the trap and then the traps turn black and die. In most cases the plants will rebound from this, but if the plant is not in good health to begin with it could be fatal for the plant.

Cheers
Steve
 
  • #11
yeah that could be

Catching more then one in the same trap was a rare thing (I had a bout 50 to 60 flytraps in the same spot) I might try feeding a lady bug again this summer and see how that's works, let me know if anyone try's feeding a lady bug and what happens.

thanks
-Jeremiah-
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  • #12
Hi NoLimits

Welcome to the forums! I'm glad you're getting a VFT. You are embarking on a dangerous journey which usually turns into an addiction.

I am moving this topic to the Flytrap forum where you may get more answers.
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Glad you're here and I hope you enjoy your new plant.
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**moving post.....POOF!**

Suzanne/PAK
 
  • #13
I have had the same problem that Jeramiah Harris refers to with feeding ladybugs. When a trap would catch a ladybug, it usually did turn black after doing so. I have also had similar experiences when they would catch ants.
 
  • #14
Here's your answer, it's too much for the plant. I have noticed this before and have studied it a little. It seams that when a plant is given something really juicy or something large, it will use up all the digestive enzimes that are aloted for that perticular leaf on "eating" said bug. When it uses up all of the enzimes the leaf is no longer benifitial or the plant to keep arourd and dies. I view this not to be a problem but part of the natural development/life cyclee of the plant.
 
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