 |
| A Crane Fly caught in a Venus Flytrap |
Here's a picture I took of a Crane Fly caught in a Venus Flytrap. A Crane Fly, which is also mistakenly called a Mosquito Eater (it doesn't eat mosquitos) resembles an oversized male mosquito. They do not and cannot bite, because they have a blunt proboscis used for feeding on plant nectar. This Crane Fly was attract to the sugary "nectar" that is secreted on the inner surface of the trap. The Crane fly is much larger than the traps, but it's abdomen triggered a trap. You can see it's head, thorax and end of it's abdomen sticking outside of the trap. The trap is strong enough to hold the Crane fly so that it couldn't escape.
 |
| A Crane Fly caught in a Venus Flytrap |
 |
| A Crane Fly caught in a Venus Flytrap |
Now the gruesome part. The Flytrap will secret enzymes and acids to dissolve the abdomen into a nutrient-rich liquid. The plant will absorb the liquid getting essential nutrients like nitrogen, leaving only the indigestible exoskeleton behind. This should be an interesting sight (in about 10 days) when the trap reopens exposing the digested exoskeleton and the undigested parts outside of the trap.
 |
| A Crane Fly caught in a Venus Flytrap with other traps open and ready! |
