FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

okay i know you dont need to feed your trap to keep it healthy but if you were to feed it one bug would you be able to notice an increase in growth of your plant?

No i dont think so, but if your plant is getting alot of light feeding it a bug would be like giving a plant fertilizer. *I think*

maybe in later sprouts and trap length

Good question and I'm not sure I can give a good answer. In theory, it *should* make a difference in it's growth rate. After all, they developed the ability to trap insects for just this reason. However, I've never read any scientific articles that actually measure how much better a flytrap grows if it catches insects.

Matt wrote:Good question and I'm not sure I can give a good answer. In theory, it *should* make a difference in it's growth rate. After all, they developed the ability to trap insects for just this reason. However, I've never read any scientific articles that actually measure how much better a flytrap grows if it catches insects.

I haven't either, but Andy and (I forget his name) are two people who have greenhouses chocked full of VFT's and they both say that a VFT that eats insects will grow faster and larger in the end than a VFT who does not get insects. Insects provide additional nutrients for the VFT, so it follows logically that a plant that gets all the nutrients is can (insects), will grow better than a plant who only gets the bare essentials (no insects).

And the analogy of insects = fertilizer for VFT's mentioned above is correct.

this has answered my question, people write that you shouldnt fill the traps but in nature this could happen and surely the plant would benifit from it??

If the plant is ridiculously healthy like it would be in its natural habitat, I'm sure the occasional all-traps-full has happened and the plant has lived.

However, even on good stretches most VFT's won't be actively digesting on more than ~half their traps, give or take.

This answers your question as well as the original poster's:
http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2540.html

One bug per week is a little too strict though...if your VFT is healthy you can feed more than that. If it has 5 traps, I'd say 2 can be eating simultaneously. Occasionally maybe 3, but don't push it.

thanks pal

jimbo1234567 wrote:thanks pal

Np.

Once upon a time, one of my VFT's with 8 (9?) traps had 6 of them digesting something at one point - probably in various phases of digestion though, one of them may have been closed for 5 days while the one next to it just caught something last night. Anyway, that VFT is still alive and doing just fine.