Forked Sundew catches Blue Damselfly

[parkouster]

Damsel in distress

[RelikaneLiengod]

i find the fly's name a bit ironic

[hobojoe357]

would coconut husk work as an alternative to peat moss? I read they are pretty similar

[Piranhaboy01]

@hobojoe357 if you use coconut husk you will need to soak it for a while, drain it and then rinse it with clean water until it all runs clear. i heard it could be used but here in Newfoundland, the last thing one will find is said coconut! XD i use pure living Sphagnum moss. you could buy dry Sphagnum moss in nurseries which works excellent

[CMM0237]

how often do you water these

[Drugaskan]

Nom Nom Nom :D

*burps*

[015zx]

whats the best soil you use on the carnivores plantes?

and anotherthing, if i wanted to have a VFT, is it a good idea to put it in a terrium with brigt sunlight?

Please reply thank you.

[jacobsanz]

It is definitely good for them to have quite a bit of sunlight, you know they are healthy when the inside of the traps are red (depending on the form of the plant).

[GorillaBlacBULL]

hi

you should join the flytrapcare . com community. we can answer all your questions and help you care properly for your vft!! we also have a great section of other Carnivorous Plants.

peat moss, and perlite

your should just keep it out side(not a terrium)

[Piranhaboy01]

@015zx hey, sorry i missed this question. how did you do after? i never, ever grow VFTs in a terrarium. they need to grow out in the air, in very bright light (sunlight is best) and in very wet moss or careful substrate mix.

[Spazman100]

Don't sundews roll up or something?

[jacobsanz]

they roll up sometimes, with big prey that could escape.

[AramisArmani]

Dragonfly: PLEASE HELP ME SIR!!!!!!

Plant: SHUT UP AND PLAY WITH MEH :D

Dragonfly: IM AT THE WHIM OF A MAD MAN!! EEEK! D:

Plant#2: I LOVE YOU BLUEY! :D

Dragonfly's Friend: I told hizz aszz to stay AWAY from the plants! SOme bugs just don't learn.

[zodiacgod131]

piran boy i bought a sundew but it's not sticky how do i make it sticky please reply!!! thank you.

[Piranhaboy01]

put it in very bright light - preferably pure sunlight. and keep the moss soaking wet with fresh water

that's about it...

[jacobsanz]

you can put the top of a 2 litre bottle (without the lid for air to enter) on it. This traps humidity. It always works with me.

[Killerspider762]

Seriously your collection is truly amazing.

[niceghostlyman]

how many carnivors plants you have?

[Piranhaboy01]

I think around 30...

[Sunmasta]

It would be very interesting to photograph and then make a slideshow of the prey being slowly digested... I find it hard to imagine how it would look.

[Kidbullet1]

oh well dude thats life cool vids dude

[CHERIEISBALLIN]

So it's pretty much like acid to the fly?

[Piranhaboy01]

Imagine a glue that sticks and, yes, like an acid begins to dissolve. The enzymes are the crucial components that are specific to the proteins of insects that quickly detach them for processing.

[wolksvagen]

crucial vid

[ColombianGamecube]

How is it actually digested by the sundew?

[Piranhaboy01]

If you notice the small beads on the end of the thin tendrils, they will fold in over the parts of the damselfly nearest to them and begin to "drool" over the prey. This liquid contains strong enzymes that will literally melt the flesh and then absorb the components

[XpliSitt]

So the death is relatively quick for the victim? If this liquid is so strong why is it safe to touch for human skin, not strong enough to do damage?

I am very curious about the drosera

[Piranhaboy01]

Nature is very clever. The "glue" on the end of the tendrils is a viscoelastic biopolymer containing enzymes specifically designed to react with insect proteins. Human proteins, although being sensed by the plant, don't cause such a quick reaction. It takes about 24 hours or so for this liquid to dissolve the insect. If you left your finger in the plant that long, I don't know if it would show signs of digestion... I never tried it.

[schneidz10]

Nature isn't clever, its just adaptive.

[Piranhaboy01]

It's not only clever, it's brilliant. People can't get their heads around the fact that organisms evolve from the nucleus which designs and builds the adaptions they possess. Environmental conditions are the rails upon which they ride. Human genetics contain plans of all our distant relatives, they are just not turned on by our nuclei.

[Xaxton2]

I once tried taking some dead skin from my finger and putting it on my drosera capensis, and it tried to digest it, but then the leaf died and fell off.

[CarnivorousPlants57]

I just thought the corpse Decays and it sucks the nutrients like a Dionaea Muscipula.

[Piranhaboy01]

No it melts under the liquid and is absorbed through the tendrils. There are no bacteria involved.

[pitcherplant208]

i will!

[pitcherplant208]

you have a lot of plants! (; I only have a few

[Piranhaboy01]

I have only shown less than half my plants yet. Stay tuned! :-D