{"id":1994,"date":"2026-07-04T11:25:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T10:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/carnivorous-plant-the-secret-behind-the-venus-flytraps-deadly-trap-finally-uncovered\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T11:25:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T10:25:41","slug":"carnivorous-plant-the-secret-behind-the-venus-flytraps-deadly-trap-finally-uncovered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/carnivorous-plant-the-secret-behind-the-venus-flytraps-deadly-trap-finally-uncovered\/","title":{"rendered":"Carnivorous Plant: The Secret Behind the Venus Flytrap’s Deadly Trap Finally Uncovered"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Recent experiments have finally shed light on the obscure physiological mechanism that allows the jaws of a famous carnivorous plant to snap shut in less than a second on its winged prey.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lightning Closure<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula<\/em>) releases a nectar with an intoxicating scent that lures insects, completely unaware of the grim fate awaiting them. Given the speed with which this trap closes, the renowned Charles Darwin had suspected that these carnivorous plants<\/strong> possessed a nervous and muscular system. Published in the journal Science<\/em>, new research reveals a very different mechanism.<\/p>\n

Also read<\/span> A new species of \u201cwalking\u201d shark discovered in Papua New Guinea<\/span><\/section>\n

Yo\u00ebl Forterre, from CNRS, and his colleagues indeed discovered that the \u201czip closure<\/em>\u201d of its jaws was the result of softening of the cells on their surface. \u201cThe fact that plant cell walls can modify their mechanical properties so rapidly was truly surprising<\/em>,\u201d notes the researcher.<\/p>\n

To reach this conclusion, the team used a tiny metallic tip, or nanoindenter, to poke the outer surface of the leaves of D. muscipula<\/em> and measure pressure changes. These leaves had been carefully immobilized beforehand with dental adhesive to prevent the trap from closing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the touch of a single drop of water, it would not reopen until the next day<\/em>,\u201d she notes. \u201cIf it is an insect, its digestion and the dissolution of the skeleton would take weeks<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also read<\/span> Les m\u00e9duses g\u00e2chent la baignade dans le Calvados, mais leur pr\u00e9sence n\u2019a rien d\u2019exceptionnel<\/span><\/section>\n
\n

It was widely thought that the movement of water through Venus flytrap cells caused the trap to close, but detailed experiments have led scientists to propose an alternative mechanism https:\/\/t.co\/mSYVLTIauO<\/p>\n

\u2014 New Scientist (@newscientist) June 15, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cellular Softening<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Earlier research had shown that simply bending the cilia on the lobes of the trap leaves triggered the propagation of an electrical signal from one side of the jaws to the other in less than a tenth of a second.<\/p>\n

These new studies indicate an almost immediate softening of the lobes at the cellular level, rather than a \u201cdeflation\u201d related to the movement of water molecules, which had been the dominant hypothesis until now.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlants are simply incredible<\/em>,\u201d exults Forterre, who has been closely studying D. muscipula<\/em> for two decades. \u201cThey can perceive their environment, respond, and communicate with one another<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also read<\/span> Des centaines de clich\u00e9s \u00e9clairent la vie des myst\u00e9rieux \u00ab chiens fant\u00f4mes \u00bb de l\u2019Amazonie<\/span><\/section>\n

Earlier, researchers had described a plant becoming carnivorous when deprived of a certain nutrient.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[310,1129,645,1847,424,270,1752,1013,1846],"class_list":["post-1994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-carnivorous","tag-deadly","tag-finally","tag-flytraps","tag-plant","tag-secret","tag-trap","tag-uncovered","tag-venus","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1994"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1996,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1994\/revisions\/1996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}