The double-touch rule

How Venus flytraps hunt

Chapter 1

The Carolina home

Chapter 2

The trigger mechanism

Chapter 3

The snap and digest

Chapter 4

Global meat-eating cousins

YOUR GOAL

Master of How Venus flytraps hunt

Ch 2 · The trigger mechanism

Tickle, Tickle, Snap!

BETA

artiteacher Tap the trigger hairs twice to discover how Venus flytraps snap shut on prey.

artiteacher The trigger mechanism

Touch me once, I wait—(oh-oh!) / Touch me twice, I snap! (yeah, I snap!)

artiteacher The double-touch rule

Plant action potentials

artiteacher Bending a trigger hair sends an electric wave through the leaf.

The double-touch rule

artiteacher The plant uses a smart timer to avoid wasting energy.

Fun Fact

Fast electricity: The electrical signal that travels through a Venus flytrap leaf moves at about ten centimeters per second.

Glossary

trigger hair (noun)
A sensitive, hair-like projection on an organism that initiates a physiological response when physically stimulated. In 1875, Charles Darwin discovered that these structures in Venus flytraps initiate leaf closure.

Gossip

Would you gently touch a trigger hair?

Quiz

Which chemical ion does the Venus flytrap use to remember the first touch?

artiteacher Plant action potentials

Quiz

How many trigger hair touches within 20 seconds are needed to close the trap?

artiteacher The sensitive trigger hairs

Quiz

What is the main purpose of the Venus flytrap counting insect struggles?

artiteacher Counting the steps

Quiz

How many trigger hairs are typically found on each lobe of a Venus flytrap?

Quiz

How many total trigger hair touches are needed to start digestive enzyme production?

Quiz

Why does the Venus flytrap use a double-touch mechanism to close?

Quiz

What kind of signal travels through the Venus flytrap leaf after a touch?

Quiz

What happens if a Venus flytrap trigger hair is touched only once?