Venus Flytraps May Have the Creepy Ability to Count to Better Devour Their Prey

Venus flytraps may be far creepier than you originally thought. It turns out that these strange, carnivorous plants can actually count, which allows the plant to know the difference between the presence of prey and a false alarm.

The carnivorous plant actually has a fruity scent, which gives it the ability to attract insects to it. But when an insect lands, a Venus flytrap doesn't always clamp shut. Curious as to why this way, researchers decided to take a closer look at the plant.

The scientists actually fooled the plants into thinking they'd landed an insect by applying increasing numbers of mechano-electric stimuli to their trap and then monitoring their responses.

So what did they find? The researchers discovered that the Venus flytrap can actually count the number of times that its victim (or the stimulus) touch the sensory hairs on its leaves. If it's one touch, then the plant does nothing. Two touches, however, close the trap. Three touches means that the plant primes itself for digestion, and five triggers the production of digestive enzymes. In other words, the insect actually "tells" the plant how much effort to use.

The findings reveal a bit more about these unusual plants, and show that their responses to insects aren't automatic. Instead, these plants seem to be able to determine how much effort they need in order to "take" an insect, and allows them to act accordingly.

The findings are published in the journal Current Biology.

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