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Dionaea Traps Selectively Allow Small Animals to Escape. Our prey capture experiments show that Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula) selectively allow small animals to escape by a system of interlocking features that complement each other very efficiently. We documented ants of the species Lasius neglectus (length 3.5 mm) running continuously through open traps of Dionaea, established since more than 20 years outdoors in our garden. To achieve statistical relevant results, we did not only count, identify and measure captured prey. Other than in former publications, we counted also the escaped ants (15,000 after 28 days) to be able to calculate the risk for small ants visiting active traps. Surprisingly, their risk to get captured is 2.5 times lower (0.04%) than the risk of mortality by medical malpractice for a human in a German hospital (0.1%). None of the four single features of the interlocking "escape system" described here would alone be able to provide such an efficient sorting out of small animals. This film is based on the same named publication in Carnivorous Plant Newsletter (December CPN, Vol. 48/4 - On the release of this film in September 2019 in press): Dionaea Traps Selectively Allow Small Animals to Escape by Siegfried R. H. Hartmeyer, Irmgard Hartmeyer and Emeritus Prof. Stephen E. Williams.

Enjoy the amazing prey capture of a catapulting sundew. Short and succinctly (75 ms) but sensational. Meanwhile, we provide more than 120 thrilling videos on carnivorous plants on our (private and uncommercial) YouTube channel. Simply subscribe to stay up to date.

Our movie "Prey Capture by Dionaea muscipula" is based on the same named CPN article (June 2017) by Emeritus Professor Stephen E. Williams and Siggi Hartmeyer. What captures Dionaea in cultivation compared with the natural habitat in North Carolina? How does it attract prey? Is UV-reflection and/or fluorescence used for attraction? Did it even develop a strategy to capture preferred larger prey animals than small ones? Well, it looks like that, but how does it work? Simply enjoy our documentary and find the answers. A HD-movie in the German language with English subtitles. Kind regards, Siggi & Irmgard.