These plants are always attention grabbers and have intrigued folks for centuries. Plants that trap insects usually occur in swampy areas and bogs of tropical and temperate regions. Generally, the soil is lacking some vital ingredient for life and the plants utilize trapped insects and small organisms to fill the gap. The captured prizes are dissolved and absorbed by the plant. However, if insects are not available (i.e. a laboratory situation) the plants will develop if nutrients are given instead. The following four plants represent the four main mechanisms of capture.
- Pitcher Plants—drowning trap
- Sundews—sticky trap
- Venus Flytraps—hinged trap
- Bladderworts—underwater trapdoor trap