When an insect or small animal crawls into the trap; the trap will operate once it touches two different hairs or one hair at least twice. Once this happens, the pads close together very fast. As a precaution against false triggering by inanimate objects or rain, the trap will reopen if these hairs are not triggered again. If the captured insect continues to struggle and the hairs are continually touched the spines turn outward to prevent the insect from escaping. The trap then closes even tighter until a complete seal is made along the unhinged edge. Next the digestive enzymes are released onto the insect. The enzymes eat away at the insect and the nutrients are reabsorbed through the pads. Four to five days later, the trap will re-open revealing the dried up remains of the insect, which are then blown away by the wind. The Venus flytrap then waits for a new prey. (Britannica, 1998)
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