4 DEADLY Carnivorous Plants

Here are four ingenious ways carnivorous plants catch their prey.
↓Want more gross info?↓

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2011) Ultra-fast underwater suction traps.

Current Biology (2016) The Venus Flytrap Dionaea muscipula Counts Prey-Induced Action Potentials to Induce Sodium Uptake

Scienceline: How Does a Venus Flytrap Work?

International Carnivorous Plant Society

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Host, Writer, Animator, Editor
Anna Rothschild

Original Footage
©WGBH Educational Foundation 2016

Keep an Eye on this One/Another
Walk in the Park
Music Provided by APM

GROSS FOOTAGE AND IMAGES

Bladderwort Footage
Courtesy Philippe Marmottant

Venus flytrap catching a fly
Sinclair Stammers/Science Photo Library

Cape sundew engulfing an insect
Francis Chee/Science Photo Library

Bladderwort Traps Prey Light Microscope
Thierry Berrod/Science Photo Library

Spider Trapped in Pitcher Plant
James H. Robinson/Science Photo Library

Sundew Fly Trap Plant
Pond5/GSMotion

Dead Insect Inside Pitcher Plant
Shutterstock/Roger de Montfort

Sarracenia Judith Hindle (4753019871)
Wikimedia Commons/David Eickhoff

Sunset in the Peat Bog (15684909747)
Wikimedia Commons/incidencematrix

AldrovandaVesiculosaHabit
Wikimedia Commons/Jan Wieneke

ByblisLinifloraHabitus
Wikimedia Commons/Denis Barthel

Darlingtonia californica ne8
Wikimedia Commons/NoahElhardt

Uk pond bladderwort2
Wikimedia Commons/Veledan

N. andamana
Wikimedia Commons/Marcello Catalano

Ile de Mahe - Plantes carnivores (3)
Wikimedia Commons/Remi Jouan

Common Bladderwort (3629436369)
Wikimedia Commons/Jason Hollinger

Common Bladderwort
Wikimedia Commons/pellaea

Drosera rotundifolia leaf1
Wikimedia Commons/Petr Dlouhý

Drosera Capensis eating a fruit fly
Wikimedia Commons/Scott Schiller

Pitcher Plants
Flickr/Dave Bonta

Sarracenia leucophylla
Flickr/Aaron Carlson

Sarracenia ‘Boob Tube’ x open-pollinated
Flickr/Aaron Carlson

Sarracenia oreophila x purpurea
Flickr/Aaron Carlson

Pitcher Plants..lots of them!
Flickr/vladeb

IMG_1757
Graeme Scott

Terrestrial shrew remains examined in

Nepenthes attenboroughii by Dr Alastair S Robinson
Wikimedia Commons/Alastair S. Robinson
Venus Fly Trap Eating Compilation Scott's Revenge On The Caterpillars
Wikimedia Commons/Scott Schiller

Dionea in action
Wikimedia Commons/Stefano Zucchinali

GROSS SFX

Cockroaches
Freesound/StateAardvark­
(used with permission from author)

Squeak Pack/squeak_10
Freesound/Corsica_S

Shuffling Cards
Freesound/robertwulfman

Wink
Freesound/bennychico11

Nord analog howling wind storm
Freesound/medialint

Sniff
Freesound/jrssandoval

Flying Mosquito
Freesound/zywx

Produced by WGBH for PBS Digital Studios

[lordtachanka]

Me:*keeps touching the Venus flytrap* Venus flytrap: I swear bro if you touch me again I will actually bite you

[MUtley-rfvg]

As a vegetarian, have owned carnivorous plants exclusively for the ironic value.

[braincraft]

Always a pleasure filming with you! I've now been caring for all of these plants for over a month, making the transition from a dog lady to a carnivorous plant lady. No regrets. 🌱🙌

[southernservicesfencecompa]

They portecc
They atacc
But most importantly
They eat bugs as a SNACC

[rbrachy]

As a child, I lived near a farm with some Venus traps... I’d always be tempted to touch them...

Me: *finger reaches for Venus
Venus: do it.
Me: uhm...
Venus: *DO IT, I DARE YOU*

[debbybrown]

He clap 🌱👏
he trap [🐜]🌱
but most importantly
he rap 🎤🌱

[aesthetic]

Someone touched my trigger hairs. TRIGGERED

[suivatra]

If plants can eat meat, I can eat meat.

[zvenafnazbalji]

Insect: *Lands on carnivorous plant.*

Also insect: "Why do I hear boss music?"

[sltu]

this video:

vegans: and i took that personally.

[CloroxBleach-jqsx]

in the tree

leaf : ohh no im falling....

catapillar: hey man im gonna eat u

leaf:

*two days later*

catapillar: woah man that some nice leafs (venus plant)

venus:hey man pls dont eat me..

catapillar: nah man i will

catapillar steps in and....

VENUS: GIT REKT!!! U EAT MY FREN NOW I EAT U

catapillar:

[brianpso]

Wow, I always liked carnivorous plants, but these 2 videos taught me so many things I never knew about them. Can't wait for the next collab!

[Dronkey]

Lol I too read that as "Coronavirus plants" I'm like plants that may fight covid?

[JassminaVellucci]

I'm vegan, and I do have a venus fly trap. He's my cute little fly trap. He catches white flies from my 20 other plants.

[jovian]

vegans! even your food eats non-veg ... XD

[weeeark]

I wonder if these plants were once big enough to trap a human

[SlyPearTree]

This make me wonder if it might be possible to engineer wheat (or other plants that are food sources) to be carnivorous for places with poor soil.
Edit: This collaboration with BrainCraft gained you a new subscriber. I never heard of this channel before.

[leahnnaa]

When you have trouble killing insects just get this plants...😂😂😂😂😂😂

[taydbl]

I’m so happy that there’s plants that take care of flies.

[zentouro]

morbidly beautiful is perhaps the best way to describe carnivorous plants and an excellent turn of phrase. brb immediately incorporating it into my vocabulary.


also the footage of the plants at the beginning is spectacular. are those from the Science Photo Library?