# The last embrace



## TimV (Jun 7, 2009)

Here for your Sunday enjoyment is _Drosera binata_, from New Zealand.

She's just attracted a small fly to the tasty looking syrup on the ends of the tentacles of a modified leaf. The fly landed for what it thought was a belly flop into a sea of veritable ambrosia, but couldn't extract itself, and after it wore itself out with futile struggling was pulled down to the small red glands you can see on the middle of the leaf, which are designed to extract the nutrients of what the mobile tentacles catch.

In a couple days, there won't be anything left at all, and the plant, which can get a foot and a half across, will get a bit bigger. You can see some of the the mobile, outside tentacles holding the fly down, and others, who have done their job, moving back into position for the next meal.

These plants are really easy to grow, compared to most carnivorous plants, and nice to have in your kitchen window as long as there's lots of sun, where they will catch and eat anything under the size of a large bumble bee that violates your territorial integrity. Not even a guard dog can do that.


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## Beth Ellen Nagle (Jun 7, 2009)

Pretty amazing. I sure enjoy your plant photos Tim.


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## PresbyDane (Jun 7, 2009)

Very nice pic


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## Idelette (Jun 7, 2009)

Wow Tim, that's very interesting....I haven't seen anything like that before!


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## py3ak (Jun 7, 2009)

Does it smell funny? Is it easy to obtain?


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## Turtle (Jun 7, 2009)

py3ak said:


> Does it smell funny? Is it easy to obtain?



It appears that it smells really good to a fly... but uhh... well.. How shall I say.. I've seen flys that didn't appear to have good taste in aromas..


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