My Venus Flytrap Won't Eat or Close Its Jaws

Triggers

• Rising up from the base of a Venus flytrap are a number of stems headed by leaf trap mechanisms called lamina. Each consists of two hinged lobes with two to five hair structures protruding from the inner surface of each lobe. To trigger the plant to snap shut on an intruding insect, at least one hair must be touched twice or several hairs in quick succession. This action signals the movements of an active creature rather than weather-related movements such as raindrops. Without the proper stimulus combination, the trap will fail to move.

Lifespan

• Every trap on the plant has a limited lifespan in terms of catching prey. After three or four captures the trapping mechanism is exhausted and will no longer function. So-called false triggering of a trap, when very small prey escapes through the closing jaws before complete closure, also weakens the lamina's function. After 8 to 10 closures of a trap that fails to produce food, it will stop responding to stimulation of the trigger hairs altogether.

Photosynthesis

• Once the traps have exhausted their maximum number of closures, they undergo a change of use to the plant. Rather than dying off, the worn out lamina open very wide and stay that way. These traps instead perform the purpose of photosynthesis to aid the plant's life cycle for several months. While these types of traps retain their sensitive hair triggers, they no longer respond to touch and fail to snap shut.

Dormancy

• Like many plants, the flytrap has a period of dormancy, which begins during fall and continues through to the following spring. During this hibernation, the plant has no requirement to feed and will not respond to any stimulus of the hair triggers within any present lamina. Unresponsiveness to stimulus of the trigger hairs but overall green tissue indicates the plant is not dead but is presently resting and fasting. Only a dominance of brown or black tissue, overall mushiness and a rotting smell indicates a dead plant.