The Venus flytrap is as close to a celebrity as a plant species can get: depicted in games and movies, commonly kept as houseplants, and even noted by Charles Darwin as “one of the most wonderful plants in the world,” this enigmatic carnivorous plant has become part of the popular consciousness.

Above: Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). Image courtesy of Lydia Cox (Trinity ’25).

Despite their fame, there are many misconceptions about Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula). First, much of their popularity arose from depictions as man-eating monsters (thanks, Little Shop of Horrors). In reality, flytraps are quite small, growing up to only six inches in diameter. Needless to say, these petite plants will not be eating you any time soon. The actual prey of flytraps is another source of confusion. The name ‘flytrap’ is a misnomer, as these plants predominantly trap terrestrial arthropods like ants, spiders, beetles, and grasshoppers that crawl into their traps.

Another common misconception is that these exotic-looking plants must come from a far-flung tropical locale. In reality, these extraordinary plants hail from a sliver of the southeastern US, growing along the coast of North Carolina, and slightly into South Carolina. Flytraps are endemic to pocosin wetland habitats, particularly fire-dependent Carolina Bay ecosystems, which historically experience fires every one to five years. One of the largest populations of flytraps is found in the longleaf pine savannas of Green Swamp Preserve, a 17,424-acre wilderness area managed by The Nature Conservancy in Brunswick County, NC.

Above: Current (red) and historical (blue) distribution of Venus flytraps. Image courtesy of Carolina News & Reporter.

Above: A controlled burn at Green Swamp Preserve, home to a large population of Venus flytraps. Image courtesy of The Nature Conservancy.

These unique, swampy habitats are precisely why Venus flytraps evolved carnivory in the first place. The soil in these regions is nutrient-poor, deficient in essential elements like nitrogen and phosphorus that plants need to survive. Flytraps compensate for these deficiencies by obtaining these nutrients from the proteins in their prey.  

The Venus flytrap employs an intricate and elegant method to capture its prey, taking advantage of highly specialized leaves. First, they use pheromones to attract prey, releasing over 60 types of volatile organic compounds. When prey lands on the inner surface of the trap it triggers tiny ‘hairs’, called trichomes. To ensure that actual prey is being sensed, rather than some other physical disturbance such as a raindrop, the trichomes must be stimulated several times in short succession before the trap lobes snap shut. This snapping motion can happen in as little as 0.1 seconds. Once the lobes shut, the bristles on the edge interlock, acting as a cage to secure prey. Flytraps then secrete digestive enzymes within the trap to break down the prey into nutrients for up to 5 days before the trap begins to reopen.

Above: Anatomy of the Venus flytrap’s trap. Image courtesy of the University of Notre Dame. 

The snap trap mechanism is unique to Venus flytraps and one other species—the waterwheel plant (Aldrovanda vesiculosa)—and arose through homologous evolution, or descent from a common ancestor. While the snap trap mechanism is extremely rare, over 600 other carnivorous plant species span several analogous modes of carnivory, or types of carnivory that evolved separately multiple times. These groups include: 

• family Sarraceniaceae = pitcher plants (pitfall traps, North America)
• family Nepenthaceae = pitcher plants (pitfall traps, Asia & Oceania)

• genus Pinguicula = butterworts (flypaper traps, worldwide except Australia & Antarctica)
• genus Drosera = sundews (flypaper traps, worldwide except Antarctica)

• genus Utricularia = bladderworts (bladder traps, worldwide except Antarctica)
• genus Genlisea = corkscrew plants (lobster-pot traps, Africa & Central/South America)

The Venus flytrap’s uncommon method of carnivory is not its only remarkable feature. The plant also grows towering flower stalks to ensure it does not catch its pollinators—bees and beetles—as prey. Interestingly, the flytrap’s pollinators were only definitively identified in 2018, so exploration and discovery of the biology of this species is ongoing!

Above: Wild Venus flytraps, growing at Green Swamp Preserve, with their surprisingly tall flower stalks. Image courtesy of The Nature Conservancy. 

While we are still learning about these special plants, Venus flytraps are at risk of vanishing before our eyes. Carnivorous plant species are especially vulnerable to climate change—often being the first species to disappear from ecosystems. Venus flytraps in particular are threatened by habitat loss, fire suppression, and poaching. Poaching of flytraps for the horticulture trade is such a pressing issue that it became a felony in North Carolina in 2014 and is punishable by up to 29 months in prison and a $50 fine per plant. Due to these threats, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists Venus flytraps as vulnerable. However, in 2023, the US Fish and Wildlife Service rejected the species for protection under the Endangered Species Act after six years of review. Despite these mixed formal registries of conservation risk, the myriad issues threatening Venus flytraps and their extremely limited range still leave this species as a cause for concern.