VFT & Dried flies

From: JWi5770869@aol.com
Date: Sun Jan 24 1999 - 04:19:06 PST


Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 07:19:06 EST
From: JWi5770869@aol.com
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg210$foo@default>
Subject: VFT & Dried flies

You wrote,

>he dried flies probably do not yield any liquid when the trap closes on
them. The *fly juice* might be necessary for the enzyme chemistry to be
activated on the surface of the trap face. Try soaking the dried flies in a
little warm water for 30 minutes before dropping into the trap.

I saw the same lack of interest when I tried to feed dried miniature shrimp
(fish food) to my VFTs. It was much easier to just put the plants in an
outdoor environment and let them catch their own food.

- Carl

The traps don't respond because the 'captured' prey (dried shrimp /fly )
doesn't move once captured.
This is actually a good housekeeping measure on the part of the VFT ,as in the
wild,any debris which would trigger the trap to close would not keep the trap
closed for a great length of time (so wasting the traps efficiency).
Because your flies/ shrimps do not move, the VFT 'thinks' it's caught a leaf
or a twig and so resets the traps to await the real thing.

I have heard that GENTLY squeezing the traps after its closed around the dried
prey will stimulate the trap to remain closed and to digest.
However, I wonder exactly how much nutrition is actually in a dried fly (bit
of a waste of time feeding them) and wether you should be feeding them when
the plants should be in dormancy.
All the best

John Wilden
Southport
Lancs.
UK



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