Sunday, March 3, 2013


In order to protect the Venus Fly Trap and to preserve its importance and value, several steps need to be done.
Conservation Ad

  1. The First Step is to raise awareness. Without the masses of the operation, and the help of the people, the objective will not be accomplished. There should be a society or organization that specifies the protect of the Venus Fly Trap. In addition, campaigns that will further advertise the need for this plant to be preserved. In this case, the Venus Fly Trap is used for medical purposes, which can benefit those whom suffer from deadly diseases. This step should be the most tiresome, for it requires quite a number of money and time.
  2. Once there is enough people to support and help, the process of conservation begins. Scientists know that the Venus Fly Trap is only found in areas of the eastern American coast, thus, they shall set up conservation parks that help the plant to reproduce and grow in their natural environment.
  3. At this stage, the masses of support may reach national awareness. Therefore, enact government laws that will enforce heavy penalties and fines to those whom poach Venus Fly Traps. This step is necessary, for it is important for the Venus Fly Trap to live and prosper. Furthermore, limit the numbers of Venus Fly Traps that can be sold legally, for conservation is more important that making a profit. Likewise, this will cause the Venus Fly Trap to be sold less excessively, and more expensively.
  4. For those whom purchase the Venus Fly Trap, make sure that they are able to take care of them appropriately, to ensure the prosperity of the plant. Provide guides and videos, educate those who are fortunate enough to buy one. Below is an example video of how to care for a Venus Fly Trap:
  5. The final step is announce success. this step will most likely take place a few years later, but the process and the result is worthwhile.
After all that, fortunately, the Venus Fly Trap will be saved. However, "Easier said than done", there will still be a need for people to cooperate and feel the need to protect these magnificent plants. Furthermore, they need to act together with the government to stop poaching and limit household planters from killing the plants. For more information on conservation, visit The Center for Plant Conservation. because the Venus Fly Trap is not the only flora that we need to care about.

Venus Fly Trap -- Medicine?

Scientists have found that the Venus Fly Trap is a potential source of treatment for cancer, mainly skin cancer. Venus Fly Trap extract is used in a mixture called Carnivora, which is the compound that can "cure":

  1. Skin cancer
  2. Colitis
  3. Crohn's disease
  4. Rheumatoid arthritis
  5. Sclerosis,
  6. Neurodermatitis
  7. Chronic fatigue syndrome
  8. HIV
  9. and multiple types of herpes
Amongst these diseases are not only deadly and fatal, but also common diseases that affect large majorities of people. The use of Venus Fly Trap Extract started in 1970, where a German physician used its contents on Cancerous cells to determine whether it could "digest" the abnormal cells. Later on, a formula called Carnivora was created, potentially "curing" Cancer. Today, scientists find that Venus Fly Trap Extract is not only used for Cancer, but other diseases as well. In fact, scientists have tested the enzymes and the chemicals within the plant that helps to break down the cancerous proteins in tumors.

However, Carnivora is considered by law, incomplete. There are plenty of unknown side effects that may occur. The FDA, or the Food and Drug Administration does not approve the use of Carnivora, unless the patient requires or asks of it. The Venus Fly Trap Extract has been used and successfully tested on animal subjects, but it is still dangerous and requires more scientific research, after all, it is considered a toxin. For more information about Venus Fly Trap Extract usage, click here. The Venus Fly Trap Extract is used to cure cancer, thus, it is important for humans to preserve this magnificent plant in order for its use to continue. Moreover, if the Venus Fly Trap is gone, then it will affect the ecosystem in the region, for it is only found here on the eastern coast of America. 

Advertisement for the Carnivora formula


Despite it's carefree and carnivorous life, the Venus Fly Trap is endangered. It suffers the face of extinction due to several reasons, but primarily:

  1. Poaching. A large number of people living in the North Carolina region sold Venus Fly Traps for profit. What was worse is that they even sold the seeds for as high as 25 cents. Note that the Venus Fly Trap is only found on the eastern coast of America, thus illegal sellers sell them for a very high price. On the other hand, a legal Venus Fly Trap is only sold for around $15 per plant.
  2. Lack of fines for poaching. Although this may not seem like a valid reason, the fact is, fines range only from $10 to $25 if found poaching a Venus Fly Trap. However, the profit from poaching is two or three times more than the amount fined. Therefore, people often sell for a higher price, earning the profit from the fines.
  3. Acting as interior plants. For the most part, the Venus Fly Trap is a beautiful and exotic plant to have in the house, but in order for the plant to successfully grow and pollinate, it is extremely difficult. One of the reasons is that the Venus Fly Trap requires a specific humid environment to grow in. Room Temperatures in a typical household on the eastern coast of the United States is usually around 19 degree Celsius (~66 degrees Fahrenheit). For this, the Venus Fly Trap is unable to prosper in household conditions. Furthermore, some planters cut off the stem that connects to the flower of the Venus Fly Trap to make sure it has enough energy to catch their prey. This obviously limits the pollination process.
Again, the Venus Fly trap is found only on the eastern coast of America, it is important that we should take care of them and refrain them from possible extinction.

Gentilviso, Chris. "Venus Flytrap Poachers Threaten Rare Species." The Huffington Post., 25 Jan. 2012. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.
JENNINGS, ASHLEY. "Endangered Venus Flytrap Poached for Profit." ABC News. ABC News Network, 26 Jan. 2012. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

The Venus Fly Trap

Basic Structure of Venus Fly Trap
The Venus Fly Trap, or Dionaea muscipula, is one of the world's few carnivorous plants. It spans over 595 species, that only live in on the eastern coasts of United States. It is often found in wetlands, and is not accessible anywhere else on the Earth. These area are often filled with nitrogen, with a boggy environment filled with insects. Therefore, there are a lot of insects that roam in this region. Interestingly the Venus Fly Traps' genus name derives from the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, and its species name is Latin for mousetrap.

The whole plant is made up of four to seven leaves. Each leaf situates on top of a stem holding the flowers, all of which is connected to a series of roots on a bulb underground. A group of seven leaves is called a colony, for the part where the fly is trapped, the common part of the Venus Fly Trap is located on each of the leaves.

The Leaf of a Venus Fly Trap exposing cilia and lobe
The Venus Fly Trap is one of the few plants that are capable of rapid movement along with the Telegraph Plant, Sundews, and Bladderworts. The mechanism that trap prey involves two covers that snap shut when it is triggered by movement on the hairs located around the leaf. It takes about 20 to 30 seconds for the covers to fully transfer the electrical signals to the "brain of the plant" and closes the covers up. For more information, click here. Once, the plant captures it's prey, it continues to the digestion process, which involves chemicals and osmosis. The prey is virtually unable to escape if the covers are shut; at this time, the leaf acts like a "stomach" and excretes enzymes from glands located in lobes along the middle of the leaf. From then on, the prey is turned into liquid and is absorbed into the plant from the inner sides of the covers, like the small intestines. In fact, on the insides of the covers, tiny hairs called cilia can be found to absorb the liquids.

Flower of Venus Fly Trap
Although it may seem easy for the process of trapping and digestion to take place, the Venus Fly Trap is actually an extremely difficult plant to grow. The reason is, is that the white flowers that the plant produces in order to reproduce falls off, for it consumes energy from trapping. The decides whether it should focus on trapping or reproducing, and for this reason, it is difficult to grow a Fly Trap. ON the contrary, if pollination is successful, the plant will produce at once, dozens of seeds.


Throughout the years in human history, many of the valuable species of either plants or animals have become endangered. One of which, is the Venus Fly Trap, it serves as an important part of the ecosystem found only in the subtropical wetlands on the East Coast of the United States. It is one of the few plants in the world that is carnivorous, or eats meat to consume energy. Unlike animals, or other plants, there are little, or no conservation movements to ensure the security of the Venus Fly Trap. Organizations such as the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) have little or no concern about the existence of the Venus Fly Trap. Hopefully, this blog will encourage you to protect and inform you about the Venus Fly Trap.


"The Mysterious Venus Flytrap." The Mysterious Venus Flytrap. Botanical Society of America, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2013.