Feeding My Venus Fly Trap: Bonus Video Included!

So I bought a Venus Fly Trap on a whim the other day. This after my article on being financial responsible. They were conveniently located in the impulse buy section at Aldi for the reasonable (I thought) price of $4.99. 

I'm only human! I couldn't resist!

I didn't realize I'd have to feed it. I thought it would do that for itself. Fortunately, a friend clued me in. Hesitant to kill bugs for a vegetable, I lucked upon a dead ant. Gave it to the plant... nothing happened. How anticlimactic? I went about my day, checked on the plant in an hour or so, and low and behold, the trap had closed!

I found out later that feeding the plant a dead bug like that shouldn't have worked. I have a gruesome theory on why it did. See, you have to tickle the little feeler hairs for the trap to close, and neither I nor the dead ant had done as much. That's why the trap didn't close right away. But why was it closed an hour later? I think the poor little guy wasn't dead. I found him soaking wet and seemingly lifeless, but I think maybe he woke up when he dried out, wriggled about, tickled the hairs, and that's why the plant sprung. The world may never know.

A moment of silence for the not-dead ant who woke up in a Venus Fly Trap and now is surely dead.

My second error was obviously not filming this for the internet. Don't worry, I didn't make that mistake twice. Without further ado, here is what my plant did when I lucked upon a dead fly in the windowsill.

But there is more to the story! The day after filming the trap had mysteriously opened, revealing my rejected gift. Straight to the internet I hurried! I found this article, which taught me how to trick the plant into thinking the dead bug was actually a live bug. Tried that, and low and behold, the plant is busily digesting the deceased fly right now! Sweet victory!

I still haven't named the little bugger. I'm open to any suggestion that isn't Audrey, so if you've got a good name for my carnivorous plant, drop it in the comments for me. Thanks!

If you want your own killer vegetable, or anything from Amazon really, it would be awesome if you clicked through this link: BAM! It's an affiliate link which means Circus Stella will get a small commission from whatever you purchase, even if you don't want a high maintenance plant in your life.

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Correction: Nearly dead, horrifically alive, then actually dead ant!

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