The Venus Flytrap

Psalm 104:24a
“O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all…”

The exotic Venus flytrap is an insect-catching plant and a wonder of God’s engineering. For example, these meat-eating plants usually live in mineral-poor soils, but by catching their own lunch, they actually provide their own fertilizer.

Up until now, scientists have not fully understood what causes the trap of the flytrap to close so rapidly on its victim. They knew that when an insect trips the little trigger hairs inside the trap, those hairs send an electric impulse to the cells on the outside of the trap.

Now it has been learned that this impulse almost instantly causes the outer cells of the trap to secrete acid. The acid breaks down the cell walls and they expand at high speed, causing the trap to close. The more the insect fights the trap, the more tightly it closes. Six to twelve hours later, after lunch is digested, the trap receives chemical signals from inside – the carnivorous plant’s version of a burp – and opens to await the next meal.

The Venus flytrap is a glowing example of what Scripture is talking about when it says that the works of the Lord are manifold – that He has made so much variety and so many ways of providing for living things. Truly, the Lord’s imagination and creativity are a wonder to behold!

Prayer:
Dear Father in heaven, I praise and thank you for how Your work so fills me with joy and wonder. I especially thank You for Your wonderful plan of salvation which has redeemed me from sin, death and the devil. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Notes:
Ref: David Dreier, “Venus’s-Flytrap Case Closed,” OMNI. Vol.5-10, July1983, p.42..    Photo: Courtesy of Picasa 2.0. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.