Natural History Wanderings

EarthSky article on how Venus Flytrap works

How does a Venus flytrap close up? A Venus flytrap leaf has two lobes connected at a hinge on its stalk. Each lobe secretes nectar to attract insects. And each lobe is lined with cilia hairs that will later seem like prison bars to some unfortunate prey.

The lobes themselves are curved out and stretched open, like a clam. Each inner lobe has three sensory hairs. When something bumps against those hairs – whether it’s a raindrop, debris in the wind, or a visiting insect – that mechanical stimulus is converted into electrical signals in cells at the base of the hair. Those electrical signals then spread across the leaf.

Read more at How a Venus flytrap knows to snap shut | Earth | EarthSky