Misadventures of a Housefly

[eBeyonder]

Presenting the Misadventures of a Common Housefly!

Screenshots:

Video:



Direct link (1): http://www.zippyvideos.com/6516745363713276/vft1-1/

Direct link (2): vft1-1.wmv

 

[tommyr]

Great video! You can almost hear him screamin' "Let me out of here!"

Tom

 

[Est]

Niiice! Very cool.

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

Great video

 

[Carito]

HOHO, SWEET!!

And you made it into an icon, LOL!! That's even funnier.

I kept on rewinding to the part where the trap snaps shut, and also thought the fly was going to escape through the large gaps of the hinges. I alo wondered why the trap didn't close all the way and seal, perhaps the trigger hairs needed strong stimulation.

Thanks, I love VFT videos.

Caro

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

Quote[/b] (Carito @ Feb. 12 2006,11:38)]HOHO, SWEET!!

And you made it into an icon, LOL!! That's even funnier.

I kept on rewinding to the part where the trap snaps shut, and also thought the fly was going to escape through the large gaps of the hinges. I alo wondered why the trap didn't close all the way and seal, perhaps the trigger hairs needed strong stimulation.

Thanks, I love VFT videos.

Caro

It takes a while for the trap to completely seal. Once the trap has closed, additional stimulation of the trigger hairs (usually by a freaked out fly) is needed before the two lopes press tightly together and digestive juices are released. This is why it's almost impossible to feed a Venus Flytrap a dead insect.

 

[eBeyonder]

As a follow-up post in response to Carito's post, below are the pictures showing, after the initial drama of the snapping of the trap, the comparatively slower process whereby the trap seals itself shut and proceeds to digest the trapped fly.

The pictures below span a time period of about 5-8 minutes. The process isn't complete by the final picture (I just got tired of squatting) and, as those of us who keep VFTs have seen, the traps seal even tighter, until the "spines" on one lobe are almost parallel with those on the other. In the final picture, you can make out a distinctly bloated up portion of the trap. I think that is where the leaf is supposed to be watertight.

 

[Gemini528]

That is really cool. I've never gotten the chance to see my plant close upon an insect. It's always the exoskeleton.

 

[Carito]

Quote[/b] (eBeyonder @ Feb. 13 2006,3:12)]As a follow-up post in response to Carito's post, below are the pictures showing, after the initial drama of the snapping of the trap, the comparatively slower process whereby the trap seals itself shut and proceeds to digest the trapped fly.

The pictures below span a time period of about 5-8 minutes. The process isn't complete by the final picture (I just got tired of squatting) and, as those of us who keep VFTs have seen, the traps seal even tighter, until the "spines" on one lobe are almost parallel with those on the other. In the final picture, you can make out a distinctly bloated up portion of the trap. I think that is where the leaf is supposed to be watertight.

Thank you for those photos.

In a surreal, eerie, inexplicable way, I found them strongly satisfying.