Why do plants eat insects?

You probably know that many insects eat plants. But did you know that some plants eat insects? These plants include the sundew and the Venus’s-flytrap. They need to eat insects because their soil does not have enough food to help them grow.

The leaves of sundew plants are covered with little hairs. On each hair there is a drop of sticky liquid. These drops glitter like dew in the sunshine and attract insects. When an insect touches one of the drops, it is stuck! Then all the hairs slowly fold in around the insect. They push the insect down against the leaf. A juice oozes out of the leaf and digests the insect.

The leaves of the Venus’s-flytrap work just like traps. They can open and close like clam shells. Little “claws” surround the edge of each leaf, and tiny hairs grow on the inside. When a fly or other insect lands on a leaf and touches one of the hairs, the leaves quickly close like a trap. Then the plant digests its meal.

Picture Credit : Google