The picture compares how small and large Venus Flytrap plants optimize their use of digestive enzymes by feeding on small prey.
Overall, both plants share a initial feeding sequence, with traps closing after being triggered by a small insect. However, while the small species shuts completely to start digesting, the bigger one is partially closed, allowing the insect to escape and preventing unnecessary digestion.
Initially, both plants have their traps wide open, with trigger hairs scattered on their inner surfaces. When these sensitive hairs are touched, two trap snaps immediately cover around the prey, at which point only the small trap’s edges interlace tightly while the larger trap is ajar.
In the subsequent stage, inside the small trap, digestive enzymes is released to break down the prey gradually. Once digestion is completed and nutrients are absorbed, the small trap reopens, ready for another capture. By contrast, as two halves of the large trap are loosely closed, the prey escape before digestion begins while the plant itself conserve its enzymes for more suitable prey.