Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant native in bogs and swamp lands in North and South Carolina. It was discovered in the 1700s and named after the Greek goddess Dione which gave it the scientific name Dionaea. The species name muscipula came from the Latin word “Mus” (mouse) and “Cipula” (trap). Venus flytrap is one of the only two known species of plants that use fast-closing, double-spaced trap mechanism to capture insects. The leaf of a Venus flytrap have two primary regions: a leaf-base that is capable of carrying out photosynthesis and grows out the ground and trapping mechanism; there was also a leaf-blade at the end of the leaf that is composed of two lobes hinged together by midrib. Venus flytrap each have between two to five trigger hairs on each lobe with three hairs on each lobe; the edge of the trap is lined with finger-liked cilia laced together when the trap shuts. The Venus …show more content…
flytrap gathers its nutrients from the nitrogen gases in the air and the nitrogen in the soil. Without the supply of nitrogen, it is difficult for the plant to get the proper protein it needs to grow. In order for the Venus flytrap to get enough nitrogen supply, it traps and digest insects. Like other plants, the Venus flytrap gets its energy from the sun in photosynthesis. The Venus flytrap conservation status is vulnerable and is threatened by over collection, habitat destruction, and fire suppression. The Venus flytrap has been introduced in many places of the world, but its original native habitat range is very small. It was originally found within 100 mile radius of Wilmington, North Carolina. They inhabits pine savannahs with beady, sandy soils and fairly constant moisture. Venus flytrap is one of the only plants that can survive in acidic soil of marshes and bogs. The flytrap are not a tropical plant; they experience hot humid summers, cool and cold winter with lots of sunlight and rain, as well as draining soil that is poor in nutrients. During the cool winter weather, for the Venus flytrap to be successful and healthy, it is best that they experience a dormant period between late October through late February or early March. During this dormant period, the flytrap plant does not need either food or light. Venus flytrap needs an open understory (part of the forest below the canopy) to live in. To keep the understory open, natural fires that sweep through and burn away parts of trees and shrubs. These fires are a necessary and important for the Venus flytrap to get the light that they need to survive. The fires that deprive the area of nitrogen does not bother the fly trap because they get its nitrogen from the insects. The Venus flytrap has evolved on the ability to thrive in its unique ecological niche by finding and alternate means for getting its key nutrients. The Venus flytrap has a life cycle that goes up to seven years. The best time for Venus flytraps to grow is during the summer, with a decreased growth rate in autumn and a dormancy period during winter. The first year of the flytrap’s life begins in March, a tiny, black seed produces a sprout. The sprout grows wide, with short heart-shaped leaves and one to two millimeter trap leaves that are functional to use. The plant does not get any larger than the size of a penny; when it photosynthesizes food to grow. Year two, after the plant’s first dormancy during winter, the flytrap grows an inch wide. The trap will grow up to 3/8 of an inch long and the plant leaves will grow longer, thinner, and more upright to raise the trap higher in the air to help catch their prey. Springtime in year three, the flytrap will be about half an inch in size and will be able to catch ground-dwelling and flying insects. It will grow two inches in height and may begin to grow a long, thick flower stalk from the center that contain cluster of small, white flowers that bloom in May. During year four to six, the Venus flytrap reach maturity of its life. From that time on, it blossoms year after year. Also during this time, the plant will begin to split beneath the soil and produce new bulbs that can be repotted. The plant then grows even larger during the seventh year of its life. The trap can grow over an inch long. It may continue to split and divide, producing larger bulbs each time. The Venus flytrap not only consume insects for food, they also need the insects for pollination to make a new generation.
To attract the insect, a mature Venus flytrap will grow a very long stalk so that the insect won’t get accidentally eaten. “At the top of the stalk, white flowers that secrete sweet-smelling chemicals, pollen and seeds that are 1mm long”. Venus flytraps has to be serval years old before it can get enough energy to make flowers and seeds. (http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4911676_venus-flytrap-reproduce.html Sexual reproduction in the Venus flytrap is no different than the other plants. Venus flytraps can be self-pollinated, meaning that you can fertilize the pistil with pollen from its own anthers. A few days after fertilization, the flowers will wither and die. The seed matures in 4-6 weeks after pollination occurred. “As the seed has matured, the tiny ovary turns jet black; about 1.5mm in length”. If the pollination attempt was unsuccessful, there will only be dead plant material.
(http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2007/knoblauc_kris/it's_a_venus_fly_trap.htm) A way to get mature plants faster and an alternative to Sexual reproduction of Venus flytraps is Vegetative reproduction. “Vegetative reproduction is used if you want to preserve the characteristics of the plant”. The Venus flytrap can reproduce without involving flowers. If a leaf, still attached to the rhizome has fallen into the soil, it will grow into an entirely new plant. In the wild, a Venus flytrap's root system will eventually grow so large that rhizomes will begin to split off from the mother plant and grow into mature plants. (https://www.flytrapcare.com/propagation-of-venus-fly-traps) The Venus flytrap preys on insects with its unique shaped terminal portions on its leaves called the leaf-blade. Each trap has between two to five “trigger hairs” on each lobe. The edge of the trap is lined with finger-like cilia that lace together when the trap closes. The trapping mechanism and digestion process is divided into four phases: the initial snap, the tightening phase, the sealing phases, and the reopening phase. In the initial snap, the trigger hairs are the indicator for the plant to know if a possible prey is in the trap. If one or two trigger hairs are touched twice within a short amount of time, the trap will spring shut immediately. If the initial snap of the trap is successful in capturing the prey, then the trap will being the tightening phase. This phase closing the trap takes about thirty minutes. The struggling victim will touch the trigger hairs signaling the trap to continue to tighten its hold. If the trap is unsuccessful in capturing the prey when it closes, the prey is able to escape and the tightening phase will not occur. The trap will begin to reopen within one to two days. If the trap successfully captures the prey, it can begin the sealing phase. During this phase, the cilia begins to interlock sealing the prey tight. Once the seal is tight, the digestive enzymes are released, drowning the insect and beginning the digestion process. The next five to 12 days, the trap will remain close while performing digestion. After digestion of the meal is finished, the leaf will reabsorb the digestive fluid and the plant begins to open the trap. The exoskeleton is left of the digested insect and serves as a lure for the trap next prey. The Venus flytrap is classified as vulnerable, it is the final step before endangered. They are threatened from over collection, habitat destruction, and fire suppression. There are about 150-175 populations of Venus flytrap left. The flytrap is extant in 11 counties of North Carolina and 1 county of South Carolina. There is an extremely large demand of the carnivorous Venus flytrap plant throughout the world, due to their rare features. Apart from being naturally rare, the Venus flytrap faces numerous threats to its survival in the wild. The first one is its popularity, which has led to the harvesting of thousands of wild plants to be cultivated and sold in the plant trade. Other threats involve its habitat; wetlands are one of the most threatened ecosystems. They are frequently drained and developed for real estate, agriculture, and recreation, and they are regular victims of pollution and exotic species invasions. Also, natural occurring fires are being suppressed in this region, allowing larger plants normally kept in check by occasional fires to thrive and choke out low-growing Venus flytraps. The Venus flytrap is protected by law in the United States where it is illegal for poaching Venus flytraps from the wild for money. Between one and four million Venus flytrap plants are being sold each year. Poachers uproot them from protected lands and harvest them to sell for a profit. The demand for flytraps continues until this day, especially in Germany, Holland, and Japan, and continues to put collecting pressure on wild populations. Majority of flytrap sellers still grow their plants from bulbs and cuttings taking from wild plants. Today people all over the world are finding a way to conserve the plant in hope to lessen the demand of the Venus flytrap.
One key distinction is the sex combs on the male’s foreleg, which is characteristic that is lacking in the females. Another way to distinguish the sex of the flies is to carefully examine the tip of the abdomen in each. The females tend to have a lighter colored abdomen that is more pointy and long. On the other hand, males tend to have darker pigmented abdomen that is round and short. In general, females tend to have a larger body than males. Sex determination can easily be accomplished even under a low power magnification, which adds to the ease of using fruit flies to study genetic
Koeniger, G. (1990) The role of the mating sign in honey bees, Apis mellifera L.: does it hinder
1.) Discuss the meaning of the Paleolithic Venuses. Identify Rice's position and explain it. Discuss four other interpretations of these figurines mentioned in class or in the reading. Do any or all of these interpretations support the views of the 19th century evolutionist Johann Jakob Bachofen?
The Drosophila live a distinct four-staged life cycle that requires approximately two weeks to reach complete maturity2. The stages are known as egg, larval, pupa, and adult. The egg is a small oval shape, and can barely be seen by the unaided eye, they are hatched the day after being laid. In order for the larva to molt and grow in size it consists of three stages: first instar, second instar, and third instar3; during this process the larvae is preparing itself for metamorphosis by shedding body parts and consuming excessive nutrients. Through metamorphosis the immature fruit fly attaches itself to an object and its outer shell hardens, it then begins the transformation process into an adult. Once the process is completed, the adult is then able to begin the sexual reproduction process within forty-eight hours....
The life cycle starts as larva or caterpillar. First, the monarch lays the eggs on the milkweed plants. Next, the egg hatch into a caterpillar. The caterpillar then eats the milkweed plants until they are large enough to pupate (Emmel, 1999). Then, the caterpillar attaches a pad of silk to a stem of a milkweed plant so it can hang while it transform into a butterfly. Next, the caterpillar sheds it larval skin to reveal the chrysalis inside (Emmel, 1999). After it shed its skin, the pupa hardens and the chrysalis earns it name by glowing in the sun. As the pupa stage comes to an end, the butterfly can be seen through its pupa shell. The monarch emerges by splitting the pupa along the length of it proboscis (Emmel, 1999). First the legs emerge. Then the fluid fill body pumps its fluid into the veins of the wings while the body shrinks to normal size. Finally, the butterfly hangs from the pupa about two hours while the wings dry (Emmel, 1999).
The Venus of Willendorf and the Venus de Milo are two ancient day venus sculptures representing two different views on beauty. The Venus of Willendorf is a small 4.5 inch limestone figure of a Goddess which is believed to be used as a fertility symbol, while the Venus de Milo is a tall ancient Greek statue of a Goddess which is said to represent love and beauty. The Venus of Willendorf’s body structure is very different than that of Venus de Milo. The venus of Willendorf appears to be a short lady with a large emphasis on her reproductive organs, breasts and stomach area whereas the Venus de Milo appears to be very tall with smaller breasts, and a really athletic build. She appears to have abs and looks as if she has not had children before, while the Venus of Willendorf looks like she has had children due to her huge breasts and stretched out belly button. The Venus
As useful as their tongue is for collecting nectar it is useless in capturing insects hidden inside flowers, even though insects do provide most of the protein...
Firstly, Venus’s atmosphere is heavily laden with carbon dioxide (CO2), which makes up 96 percent of its atmosphere, 3.5 percent is made of nitrogen, and the remaining 0.5 percent is a combination of water vapor, sulfuric acid (which produce Venus’s thick, stable clouds), hydrochloric acid, and hydrofluoric acid. Venus’s upper atmosphere is cool, which the lower atmosphere is extremely hot and causes the surface temperature to rise to 470C (880F). Venus’ present atmosphere is very dry, but shows signs that it may have once contained water. An abundance of deuterium—the heavy isotope of hydrogen—developed, but was broken down into hydrogen and oxygen atoms by ultraviolet radiation that could not be absorbed by Venus’s lack of an ozone layer (Seeds).
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli depicts a moment from Venus birth when she stepping, almost floating, off the seashell that was blown ashore by Zephyors along with Chloris. Horae awaits Venus arrival to shore with a large red cloak to cover her naked body .Venus is the Roman goddess of love, sex, beauty, fertility, and prostitution. Venus is the Roman Aphrodite. Born of seafoam from a singled drop of blood in to the sea from the castration of her farther Uranus by his son Saturn.
To begin with, the upper and the lower leaf on the venus flytrap produces a sweet nectar, that is spread on the open traps of this plant, for attracting insects. Then, the insects smell the nectar and land on the plant’s leaves causing them to trigger the venus flytrap’s trap. At first the plant closes it’s trap lightly so that small insects, that the plant does not want to eat can escape, but once larger insects start to struggle, the leaves will clam together tightly over the plant’s meal. Substances produced by insects can cause, the trap’s leaves to be more tight when closed, because of that it only takes a few minutes for the traps make airtight seals.
Braun, Bruce . "Is There Life On Venus?." Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group, 3 July 2013.
Abstract: Even before Darwin’s time, scientists were intrigued with the Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). Since then, much has been learned about this rare carnivorous plant that feeds on living matter rather than through the process of photosynthesis such as other plants. Researchers continue to study specific aspects of the plant such as its closing mechanism and evolutionary tree, as well as newer issues such as the value to pharmaceuticals and healthcare and its adaptation to other geographical areas such as the bottom of the sea.
There are nearly one million species of insects known. Insects are defined by having six legs and a body divided into three segments: head, thorax, and abdomen. Chitin is an organic material that makes up an insects exoskeleton. There are three life cycles of insects, ametabolous or incomplete and paurometabolous or gradual, and homotabolous or complete metamorphosis. These life cycles are important in the aging of insects for aiding in legal investigations, (Houck and Siegel. Entomology).
When the colony becomes well established, the queen begins to lay some eggs that develop into queens and males. It takes a few years before a colony becomes large enough to send out winged males and young queens to start new colonies. The cycle will now begin all over again. Nests come in all shapes and sizes. One tropical species built a nest that extended forty feet below the surface of the ground.
Venus is the second planet from the sun. Venus is the planet with the most volcanos. Surprisingly, scientist have