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| 2783 Common wasp (Vespa vulgaris) caught in a Venus flytrap (Dioanea muscipula) |
The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is a carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands on the East Coast of the United States in North Carolina and South Carolina, specifically within a 60-mile radius of Wilmington. It catches its prey (chiefly insects and arachnids) with a trapping structure formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves, which is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces. When an insect or spider crawling along the leaves contacts a hair, the trap closes if a different hair is contacted within twenty seconds of the first strike. The requirement of redundant triggering in this mechanism serves as a safeguard against wasting energy by trapping objects with no nutritional value.
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