The Venus flytrap may not be a predator, but a gourmet eater that actually does not need meat to stay alive.
Venus flytraps, like all other plants, get their needed nutrients through photosynthesis. They can function normally as long as they have sunlight, water, airflow for photosynthesis, and soil.
Nevertheless, the plant still adheres to a bloody diet. It attracts insects with its sweet-smelling nectar and locks its victims behind its teeth in the flower so it can be digested over a week. The curious thing is that Venus flytraps can't digest motionless prey because they need a tickling sensation to secrete digestive juices, similar to humans.
Notably, biologists who examined Venus flytraps' feeding habits noticed that the plant prefers not to eat its pollinators, which include certain kinds of bees and beetles.
Scientists have long known that Venus flytraps ingest bugs so as to supplement their nutrition, specifically nitrogen intake. Venus flytraps are native to some coastal areas in North and South Carolina, where the soil is nitrogen deficient.
Nitrogen is an essential component of the amino acids needed to make proteins, as well as nucleic acids and chlorophyll, which converts the Sun's energy into sugar. These processes are vital for plant metabolism, growth, and health.
Over millions of years, the plant evolved in nitrogen-poor soil and adapted its digestive system, and scientists say that all plants on Earth have the necessary components to become carnivorous one day if needed.