FEEDING My New CARNIVOROUS PLANTS | Venus Fly Traps and Pitcher Plants

They are

plants

, but with a really interesting biological touch. They are

plants

that devour insects. Super cool and very interesting pets. But would they be considered pets? Absolutely, and today we are going to discover the amazing world of the most famous

carnivorous

plants: Venus fly

traps

and

pitcher

plants, both of which grow in this lush new kingdom of terrariums and

carnivorous

plant garden that I recently acquired. Now, these carnivorous plants will really blow your mind, especially when we do what carnivorous plant lovers are most excited about:

feeding

them insects! Stay tuned until the end to see the epic

feeding

session of our new carnivorous plants.

I'll also talk about how to properly care for them for those who want to keep carnivorous plants, and as always, I'll need your help to name them in this video! So, AC Family, it's an episode of eye-opening and eye-opening discovery, so let's gather around and welcome the Antiverse, organisms that deviate from the traditional order of nature, that invert the normal relationship between prey and predator, and that are living. proof that animals are not always above plants in the food chain. Here on AntsCanada Ant channel. Subscribe to my channel and hit the bell icon. Welcome to the AC family.

Enjoy! Once upon a time, I sought the help of some special plants to help control the population of one of my huge ant colonies. I am referring, of course, to the

pitcher

plants I placed inside Hacienda Del Dorado, the home of my then overcrowded colony of yellow crazy ants. The plan was to use these carnivorous plants as biological population control so that the ants would not overpopulate indefinitely, but it turns out that the result was totally unexpected. At first, it seemed to work with ants being devoured at a good rate, but in the end the ants emerged victorious.

Can you believe that ants found a way to kill carnivorous plants by dropping the remains of their prey and insect remains into the bellies of carnivorous plants? Witty! They literally overfed the carnivorous plants to death. Plus, it turns out that ant poop, which would normally act as a delicious plant fertilizer for normal plants, is deadly to carnivorous plants, so they ended up dying. I'll get more into the science of it all later. But, if you're like me, who's tried to keep carnivorous plants in the past and they always ended up dying, then you'll understand by the end of this video why most people fail to keep these cute pets alive, and most don't even notice.

Notice that your dead carnivorous plants are actually still very much alive, but they look dead. When I was a kid, I remember always asking my parents to buy Venus fly

traps

that were on sale at Home Depot, but I couldn't understand why they kept dying after a few months, no matter how much I took care of them! I finally came to the conclusion that the plants were simply difficult to maintain, but in reality, these carnivorous plants are quite simple to maintain when you know the basics, and soon you too will know how to care for them properly, and maybe even take a little time. attempt to keep these creatures seemingly half animal, half plant.

So now let's take a look at our new kingdom of carnivorous plant gardens! AC family, welcome to the new territories I have called Carnivora. It's a beautiful terrarium, don't you think? Inside we have two species of carnivorous plants. One is the world famous Venus flytrap Dionaea muscipla. This Venus fly trap has several traps growing at the end of each leaf. Inside the traps you will find the so-called trigger hairs. When prey such as small insects and spiders successively touch these hairs, the leaves close, trapping them inside. This Venus fly trap is big, beautiful and impressive. There are also two more baby

venus

fly traps growing here and here between some rocky parts.

Further to the right side of the tank are these carnivorous plants. It is known as the purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. These plants have modified leaves called pitfall traps. The lip that opens here secretes nectarine juice that attracts insects. What they don't know is that these openings are slippery and have hairs that point inward to trap insects that come to try them. The insects fall into the hollow parts of the leaves, where they will then be digested into liquids. What I also love about Carnivora are these patches of Dutch moss spread throughout the tank. It is decorative and looks very pretty against the rocks and white sand path of the terrarium.

Now this terrarium has been strategically and specifically built for these carnivorous plants. And to understand how to care for them properly, I have learned that you have to understand their evolution. AC family, get this! Some plants millions of years ago adapted to living in nutritionally poor environments in which most other plants had trouble living. Evolution designed these plants to acquire the necessary nutrients, not from the soil like most normal plants, but from eating insects! They are literally designed to grow in nutrient-deficient soil and eat insects. This means then that pitcher plants and Venus flytraps, like most other carnivorous plants, hate nutrient-rich environments, hence why the pitcher plants at Hacienda Del Dorado are disappearing.

This is the first mistake new carnivorous plant owners make. Plants need nutrient-deficient material to grow. These plants here grow in peat and horticultural sand, without added fertilizers, without nutrient-rich soils from our Core, as that would kill them! And they also grow in places suspended above the ground, so that water does not drown the roots. They need good drainage as the roots can rot easily. Speaking of water, they are only allowed to drink distilled or rainwater because even tap water can have too many minerals and nutrients for them. And guys, you're going to love the watering system I bought for the Carnivora plants.

Are you ready for it? It comes in 1 - 2 - 3. A magical mist covers Carnivora twice a day for a few minutes. Of course, if you have carnivorous plants, spraying and watering will also work, but I must admit, it's much cooler this way. I always have fun marveling at how the tank transforms into a Silent Hill setting once I turn on the fog machine. It's haunting, fascinating and I end up looking at it mesmerized by the beautiful swirls of mist! And now that the inhabitants of Carnivora have hydrated, it's time for what you've all been waiting for.

It's time to eat! Our resident carnivores are about to be fed. Now, the thing about these carnivorous plants is that they don't need food regularly, and certainly not every day. That was a mistake I made saving them as a kid. They only need insects when you see that they are not doing so well or seem unhealthy. It's really hard not to feed carnivorous plants insects on a regular basis, especially since that's the appeal of keeping them. If kept outside, the plants may be able to catch enough insects on their own and you won't have to worry about feeding them.

But today I'm going to feed our carnivorous plants because they're kept indoors, and I'm going to give them a little more than usual for a very important reason that I'll get to in a moment. Let's start with our large Venus fly trap. I want to start with this dead trap ant that I recovered from our Jawbreaker's graveyard. Look what happens. It may surprise you! Placing one now, the ant touches the trigger hairs and bam! Caught! Now let's give this trap another try. Swallowed! Now this is what I want to show you guys. Because these ants were already dead, the Venus fly traps were opened a couple of days later, revealing the undigested ants inside.

You see, Venus fly traps like their food to be alive and moving. Movement inside the trap stimulates the plant to digest the insect. Some say that the urea produced by the insect triggers digestion, but whatever the case, our dead ants were rejected and vomited out! Okay, now let's feed a live insect, this cockroach nymph. Moving it with my tweezers… and oh no! He escaped! Making Venus fly traps close without food in their traps is apparently a waste of energy. I mean, for a plant, movement like opening and closing anything requires a lot of energy, so you should never touch the trigger hairs of the traps, as it would cost the plant valuable energy.

Let's try the other side. The legs tickle the trigger hairs and bam! Successfully eaten! The movement of the roach will now cause the digestive juices to flow and digest the roach. I used a toothpick to push the roach deeper. Now let's feed the carnivorous plants! These plants don't need fighting prey, so I'll give them some chopped mealworm. And enter! It will fall to the bottom where it will soak and digest in liquids, thus nourishing the carnivorous plant. And let's feed this one too! Forward! And there you have it! Our carnivorous plants have been fed! Pretty cool, right?

Now the reason I have decided to feed the plants now is because they need to go through a period of hibernation. These carnivorous plants are from North America and, like North American ants, benefit greatly from a three-month hibernation period in which they receive less light and water. For now they are used to 12 hours of light a day and regular misting, but starting today I will reduce their light to 4 hours a day and a little less water. During hibernation the plants look black and practically dead. When I was a kid, we didn't have an information-rich world wide web, so I couldn't understand why my Home Depot Venus flytrap plants died out every winter, no matter how hard I tried to take good care of them.

Turns out they weren't actually dead. They were simply withering away to preserve all their nutrients and energy to survive the hostile hibernation period. Take note, all who want to preserve Venus fly traps, which will wither and blacken each winter, but are still very much alive and will miraculously revive bright and green in the spring. Like ants, although Venus flytraps do not need to go through a period of hibernation, doing so is said to prolong their lifespan and they actually benefit from the annual dormant period. These new carnivorous plants of ours are truly amazing additions to our growing collection of pets and terrarium kingdoms!

Let me know in the comments what we should name our carnivorous plants and I'll pick my favorites to vote on in a future video. Maybe something like Snap Dragons for Venus fly traps or Decanters for pitcher plants! Ha ha! I will announce the winning names in an upcoming episode. In terms of long-term care, you should be sure to trim any blackened leaves or traps as they can spread fungal outbreaks. This violet carnivorous plant, also North American, also needs a period of hibernation, as does, according to some sources, this species of moss that also comes from a temperate climate.

So Carnivora is winding down into its winter dormancy, but around February I will change its photoperiod back to 12 hours of light daily and return to misting regularly. By then, a new vitality will invigorate all the Carnivora here, and to be honest, it is no different than having ants. In Canada, I loved overwintering my ant colonies because it meant I could take a break from demanding maintenance tasks for a good 3 or 4 months. It kept the hobby fresh and always gave me something to look forward to. What about you? Are any of you hibernating your ants right now?

How are you handling the wait? Well, we ant keepers, carnivorous plant enthusiasts and, well, many animal keepers are also in the same boat, going through the same hibernation wait. It's surprising to think that many plants and animals require a period of dormancy to stay healthy. It is surprising how deeply biologically linked many organisms are to their respective native climates. This is why apples do not grow in tropical regions and why many captive lizards need a period of hibernation in order to reproduce successfully. As we all move into 2020, a new decade, I felt like this could be the ultimate reminder and metaphor for new beginnings.

Life sometimes needs a break so it can come back stronger and more vibrant than ever. Thank you all so much for watching! I really love you guys so much. It's love between ants and plants forever! Very good, AC Family, do you like our new carnivorous plant terrarium? I hope it blooms and eventually turns the plants and moss into something much bigger and more epic, but all that in time. I want to take thetime to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020 and thank you all very much for watching my videos week after week. It means a lot to me that you love nature as much as I do.

So if you haven't already, subscribe to the channel, hit the bell icon to get notifications now, and choose ALL, to get notified every time I post these high-quality nature videos. Also, remember to hit the LIKE button every time, even now! Just a reminder, I wanted to let everyone know that this is your last chance to take advantage of our great AC Annual Leave promotion - the 20-2020 sale on my website AntsCanada.com. That's 20% off all Hybrid Series ant farms and equipment packages now through January 2020, plus a free copy of our newly updated "Ultimate Ant Conservation Handbook" right now at AntsCanada .com.

Click the link in the description to get your AC ant farm today! AC Inner Colony, I've left you a hidden cookie here, if you want to see more scenes of the Carnivora plants, as well as their diet. They are beautiful plants and I think you will love them! And now it's time for the AC question of the week. Last week we asked: What do you like most about the bottle ant terrarium we made? Congratulations to Jaime Whitsett who responded: My favorite part is the road. It's absolutely beautiful. Congratulations Jamie, you just won a free Ultimate Ant Keeping manual from our store!

In this week's AC Question of the Week we ask: What kind of water do our carnivorous plants need? Leave your answer in the comments section and you could also win a free eBook manual in our store! I hope you can subscribe to our channel as we upload content every Wednesday and Saturday at 8am. m. ITS T. Remember to LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE if you enjoyed this video, to help us continue making more. It's ant love forever!