kevinqwe wrote:i still dont get what the different is over feeding your plant, and the plant overeating by itself.
anyone got and explanation?
Venus Flytraps
can live on sunlight alone although they may not be at their best. Insects they catch supply all kinds of nutrients that Venus Flytraps can't get from their native soil nor from the sun (by photosynthesis). Insects round out the diet of Flytraps, just like all kinds of vitamins and other things in small amounts round out the diet of humans, although humans could probably live on just rice or potatoes or a very limited diet of some kind.
A very healthy Flytrap that lives with plenty of sun and not too much water (they need water and need to be moist, of course, but too much water tends to make them grow fast but weak) can catch and digest insects in all of its still functioning traps and be fine. A weaker plant grown indoors in less light may become a little stressed if it is given too much to eat at one time, that's all. To a weak plant, just one bug supplies a big boost and is sufficient to help it become more healthy or robust. For a mature healthy Flytrap grown in plenty of light, they can be voracious, eat lots of bugs and become more and more healthy, vigorous and robust.
I live in an area of the country that has hundreds of dairies. Hundreds of dairies breed billions and billions of flies. My Flytraps get a whole lot of high desert sun and catch a whole lot of flies. When I place a tray of flytraps outside, within 15-20 minutes there are flies all around them, sipping the nectar the Flytraps produce (just beneath the cilia ("fingers" or "teeth"). Even the ones that manage to escape a trap or two come back for more and usually eventually get caught.
Anyway, just be conservative when feeding a newly transplanted Venus Flytrap, or one that has been grown in stressful conditions, or a small one or one that has been grown too wet or with too little light; and then feed it more as the conditions improve and the plant's health improves.
Everyone has their own comments and advice, so remember that these are the comments of just one grower. Everyone grows their plants differently, and Venus Flytraps do adapt to and thrive under a wide variety of conditions.
Best wishes,
Steve