Tricks to Feeding a Flytrap?

[chrisorapello]

I read that you should feed your carnivorous plants and that one way was to use freeze dried insects that are often used to feed reptiles. I've tried to feed my Flytraps with these but since the insects are dead and do not move the traps tend to re open after a day or so as opposed to actually digesting the insect.

Any tips or suggestions about "tricking" a Venus Flytrap into completely eating one of these insects?

[Aidan]

There is no requirement to feed plants and under most circumstances they will catch all that they require of their own accord.

If you must feed your plant, do so sparingly and feed live insects. It is the struggle that stimulates the trap to close completely and begin the digestion process.

[Michael Catalani]

chrisorapello said:

I read that you should feed your carnivorous plants and that one way was to use freeze dried insects that are often used to feed reptiles. I've tried to feed my Flytraps with these but since the insects are dead and do not move the traps tend to re open after a day or so as opposed to actually digesting the insect.

Any tips or suggestions about "tricking" a Venus Flytrap into completely eating one of these insects?

Use a thin instrument such as a pencil tip to jiggle the insect in the trap for a few seconds, and repeat this about every 15 seconds for about a minute or two.

Like Aidan said though, live insects are best, and the plants can normally catch plenty on their own unless they are absolutely isolated from prey.

[Bogiron]

My VFt's favorite food seems to be spiders and not flies. It seems strange seeing the long legs sticking out of the trap. If you put your plant outside you'll see what food they enjoy in your area - assuming you don't have them in a terrarium. As long as you keep them wet enough and don't make any sudden changes in enviromental conditions the plants will love it. This is the only way to really see what a plant looks like in nature.

[Michael Catalani]

bogiron said:

My VFt's favorite food seems to be spiders and not flies. It seems strange seeing the long legs sticking out of the trap. If you put your plant outside you'll see what food they enjoy in your area - assuming you don't have them in a terrarium. As long as you keep them wet enough and don't make any sudden changes in enviromental conditions the plants will love it. This is the only way to really see what a plant looks like in nature.

Spiders will be one of the most frequently caught prey for your flytraps. (as long as they have access to them) Spiders are lured to traps that have previously caught insects in them, and wind up getting trapped themselves.

Plants in the wild also reportedly catch an abundance of spiders.

[chrisorapello]

I keep mine on the windowsill so they are indoors and insects are not as common. I was concerned because they seem like that are fading. The one is not growing out as much and I have already lost two plants since last year.

[ICPS-bob]

chrisorapello said:

I keep mine on the windowsill so they are indoors and insects are not as common. I was concerned because they seem like that are fading. The one is not growing out as much and I have already lost two plants since last year.

I would look for reasons other than feeding.
1st: Are you using sphagnum peat for soil (with or without quartz sand/perlite)?
2nd: Is your soil kept moist using distilled or RO water?
3rd: Are your plants getting adequate light?
4th: Did your plants have a winter dormancy?
If the answers are all yes, then let us know your exact conditions and/or post a photo.

[chrisorapello]

admin said:

chrisorapello said:

I keep mine on the windowsill so they are indoors and insects are not as common. I was concerned because they seem like that are fading. The one is not growing out as much and I have already lost two plants since last year.

I would look for reasons other than feeding.
1st: Are you using sphagnum peat for soil (with or without quartz sand/perlite)?
2nd: Is your soil kept moist using distilled or RO water?
3rd: Are your plants getting adequate light?
4th: Did your plants have a winter dormancy?
If the answers are all yes, then let us know your exact conditions and/or post a photo.

Well, no not all the answers are yes. I will change these practices. These plants were purchased from Home Depot last year. Do you suggest that I repot these plants to make sure that they are in proper soil? They're in my window although I live in an apartment and all my windows have northern light meaning lots of shade. They get good light in the morning but are quickly shaded due to the course of the sun. Is this a problem?

[Aidan]

I think Bob has hit the nail upon the head. From the sound of it, your major problem is lack of light. Dionaea are real sun-worshippers and a north facing window simply is not going to provide sufficient light. Supplemental lighting may be the only option in your situation.

The plants also need a winter rest and for this they should be kept on the cool side. 50F or lower is ideal.

A repot into fresh media is a good idea.

[chrisorapello]

aidan said:

I think Bob has hit the nail upon the head. From the sound of it, your major problem is lack of light. Dionaea are real sun-worshippers and a north facing window simply is not going to provide sufficient light. Supplemental lighting may be the only option in your situation.

The plants also need a winter rest and for this they should be kept on the cool side. 50F or lower is ideal.

A repot into fresh media is a good idea.

Hmm, I will be sure to do all of the suggestions provided.

Thanks for the answers and the insight!

[Deleted]

you may actually want to give it cooler water in the winter and warmer water in the spring....even though i have never managed to keep a vft alive for more then 3 years i found that when i did this they seemed to become alot more colorful and actually resembled the colorfulness that some people encounter in those that are wild

[ICPS-bob]

radjess331 said:

you may actually want to give it cooler water in the winter and warmer water in the spring....even though i have never managed to keep a vft alive for more then 3 years ....

What?

[Steve D]

chrisorapello said:

I keep mine on the windowsill so they are indoors and insects are not as common. I was concerned because they seem like that are fading. The one is not growing out as much and I have already lost two plants since last year.

For healthy Venus Flytraps

• Lots of sunlight
  
• Not too much water (moist, not soggy)
  

Don't drown your Venus Flytraps with too much water. Although they can certainly tolerate having sopping wet growing medium for extended lengths of time, there are many situations when it is safer (to prevent fungal rot, for instance) and healthier to let them dry to just moist between thorough waterings.

In lots of direct sunshine in the heat of summer, lots of water is usually not a problem. If the weather is colder however, or of the plant is in dormancy, or if it is not getting many hours of direct sun, too much water can force it to grow spindly and weak, or to succumb to infections and rot, or--

Regarding feeding dead insects to your Flytrap, you can place your thumb and forefinger on either side of the just-closed trap (with dead insect food inside) and gently squeeze a few times. Do the same thing several minutes later, and possibly 3 or 4 times in total. This will stimulate the trigger hairs in the trap and cause it to think it has captured prey. It will then usually close tight (over the next few hours) and begin to digest the insect.

To capture flies in the house to feed your flytrap, you may consider keeping a small bottle in the freezer, then using it to capture a fly at a window (with the bottle and a piece of stiff paper to close the opening). The fly will quickly become lethargic in the ultra-cold glass bottle and you can then pluck it out with long tweezers and feed it to a Flytrap. As the insect emerges from its sleepy lethargic state and begins to move inside the closed trap it will stimulate the trap to continue the trapping/digestion procedure.

Best wishes,

Steve

[zpyder]

bogiron said:

My VFt's favorite food seems to be spiders and not flies. It seems strange seeing the long legs sticking out of the trap. If you put your plant outside you'll see what food they enjoy in your area - assuming you don't have them in a terrarium. As long as you keep them wet enough and don't make any sudden changes in enviromental conditions the plants will love it. This is the only way to really see what a plant looks like in nature.

This summer I've been helping out Uni whilst doing my dissertation research (I can vouch for the VFT needing light thing, I had to end that experiment 2 weeks early because they weren't getting enough light in the controlled environment cabinet!)

...Anyway, regarding the spiders. One of the things I've been helping with is pitfall trapping. I'm sure you can guess what it involves, basically digging a plastic cup into the ground and putting a little water with a small drop of detergent in it (to reduce surface tension and drown insects better!). This research is into heathland restoration (the abundance and diversity of invertebrates are a good indicator of the health of the habitat). Anyway, generally, regardless of the ground the traps were dug into, the ratio/average number of insects has been a bit like the following:

Coleoptera (Beetles): 3-5 per trap
Hemiptera (Bugs): 2-4 per trap
Diptera (Flies): 8-15 per trap
Hymenoptera (Ants, bees and wasps etc): 10-20 Per Trap
Lycosidae (Wolf Spiders): 10-35 Per trap

The amount of spiders does range, but I think the above figures are about normal for most traps. The most bizarre thing is we've gotten A LOT of long legged red spider mites in these traps. When I say a lot, we're talking counts of around 50 most of the time, with a couple of them going over 200. In one pitfall. These traps are about the size of your average paper cup you'd get from a coffee vending machine!

Anyway, considering the low lying nature of the traps, I'd figure that VFT's are likely to trap similar numbers of the above. There's an article in a back issue of CPN that mentions Venus Fly-Traps "aren't" - with figures showing that most of the time for these plants the majority of prey are ants!


The numerous ugly mites under a low power microscope at work.


EDIT* (sorry about the image size, didn't realise it appeared so big.Using the preview image from my gallery if it's ok...)

[Aidan]

Image changed to link. Please try to keep images posted direct to the forum to a maximum size of around 750 x 750 pixels.

Thanks.