A bee steps onto this Venus fl ytrap’s leaves. The trap has not yet sprung.


Plants That Trap Bugs One plant that teaches us about the sense of touch is the Venus flytrap. It eats bugs. To catch them, it makes a trap with its leaves. When a bee walks across the plant,


the leaves snap shut. Some scientists wondered what triggered the trap. Rain didn’t, but bugs did. Here’s what they discovered. Fine


hairs grow inside the trap. When an insect brushes against more than one hair, the trap closes. Most raindrops only strike one hair, so they don’t trigger the trap.


22 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER


A Sense of Smell Sometimes, we observe something, but can’t explain it. Here’s an example. My grandmother knew how to make a hard avocado soſt . She put the avocado and a ripe banana in a brown paper bag. Why does this happen? Scientist figured it out. T e banana


gives off a chemical. T e avocado smells the chemical. T is smell causes the avocado to ripen quickly.


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