plants generally don't come to mind.

植物一般不會想到。

After all, they're typically

畢竟，他們是典型的

at the bottom of the food chain.

處於食物鏈的底部。

But the Carolinas are home to one vicious vegetable:

但卡羅林納州是一種惡性蔬菜的故鄉。

the Venus flytrap.

金星捕蠅器。

Using its famous trap, it can catch prey faster

利用它著名的陷阱，它能更快地抓住獵物。

than you can blink.

比你能眨眼。

But what happens next inside a Venus flytrap?

但接下來在金星捕蠅器裡面會發生什麼呢？

Funny thing about Venus flytraps,

關於金星捕蠅器的趣事。

they don't usually trap flies.

他們通常不會捕捉蒼蠅。

In fact, winged insects only make up about 5% of their diet.

事實上，有翅昆蟲只佔其食物的5%左右。

Clyde Sorenson: We really ought to be calling it

克萊德-索倫森：我們真的應該把它稱為

the Carolina spider trap

卡羅萊納州的蜘蛛陷阱

because that's really...it's only found in the Carolinas,

因為那真的是... ...它只在卡羅萊納州發現。

and, actually, a little piece of the Carolinas,

而且，實際上，卡羅林納州的一小塊。

and it mostly eats spiders and ants.

而且它主要吃蜘蛛和螞蟻。

Narrator: But, of course, regardless of species,

旁白：但是，當然，不管是什麼物種

that bug is going to have a bad day.

那隻蟲子會有一個糟糕的一天。

It all starts when the victim wanders into the trap,

這一切都始於受害者徘徊在陷阱中。

possibly lured by the bright-red hue or fragrant scent.

可能是被鮮紅的色調或芬芳的氣味所吸引。

Or maybe they're just unlucky.

或者他們只是運氣不好。

Sorenson: We think the spiders mostly just blunder.

索倫森：我們認為蜘蛛大多隻是虛驚一場。

Narrator: The trap itself looks like an open mouth.

旁白：陷阱本身看起來就像張開的嘴。

It's made of two pads attached to a hinge.

它是由兩個墊子連接到一個鉸鏈上。

Sorenson: On each one of those pads,

索倫森。在每一個這些墊子。

there are usually three little trigger hairs

三根小毛

in a kind of a triangle.

在一種三角形。

And those trigger hairs are very, very sensitive

而這些觸發毛髮是非常非常敏感的。

to being disturbed.

到被打擾。

Narrator: The first time a spider knocks into a hair,

旁白：第一次被蜘蛛撞到頭髮上的時候

it sets off an electrical signal,

它引發了一個電信號。

sort of like the electrical currents in your brain.

有點像你大腦中的電流。

That signal starts the countdown.

該信號開始倒計時。

If the bug escapes within 20 to 30 seconds,

如果蟲子在20到30秒內逃脫。

nothing else happens.

沒有其他事情發生。

That way, the plant doesn't waste energy.

這樣一來，工廠就不會浪費能源了。

But if the bug brushes against another hair, snap!

但是，如果蟲子與另一根頭髮擦肩而過，啪!

In just 100 milliseconds, about four times faster

只需100毫秒，約快4倍。

than you can blink,

比你能眨眼。

the trap slams shut.

陷阱猛然關閉。

Sorenson: Then, the trap rapidly goes from convex to concave

索倫森：那麼，陷阱就會迅速由凸變凹。

on each side,

每邊都有。

and the long little spikes on the rims of the pads

和長長的小釘子在墊子的邊緣上

interlock to form kind of a cage.

互鎖，形成一種籠子。

Narrator: Now, of course, the spider isn't happy

旁白：現在，當然，蜘蛛不高興了

with this turn of events.

隨著事態的轉變。

So it tries to escape,

所以它試圖逃跑。

which is exactly what the plant wants.

這正是植物想要的。

The more the spider struggles, the more it knocks

蜘蛛越是掙扎，它就越是敲打

into the trigger hairs, the tighter the trap closes.

到觸發毛髮，陷阱關閉得越緊。

And after an hour or two, the trap locks completely.

而一兩個小時後，陷阱就會完全鎖死。

Cells on the edges of the pad secrete moisture,

墊子邊緣的細胞會分泌水分。

which glues the edges together

邊緣膠合

to form an airtight seal.

以形成氣密性密封。

Suddenly, that trap isn't a mouth anymore;

突然間，那個陷阱就不是嘴了。

it's a stomach.

這是一個胃。

Digestive juices flood into the closed compartment,

消化液湧入封閉的隔間。

dissolving the spider's soft organs,

溶解蜘蛛的軟器官。

and the trap's lining sucks up

陷阱的襯裡吸起了水

that nutrient-rich slushy.

那營養豐富的泥漿。

After about a week, all that's left is an empty husk,

大約一個星期後，剩下的只是一個空殼。

the spider's exoskeleton.

蜘蛛的外骨骼。

Next, the trap reopens and the husk tumbles out.

接著，陷阱重新打開，果殼翻滾而出。

The trap is now ready for its next meal.

陷阱現在已經準備好了下一頓飯。

But bugs aren't the only food the trap captures.

但蟲子並不是陷阱捕捉的唯一食物。

Just like leaves on other plants,

就像其他植物的葉子一樣。

the trap's surface contains a green pigment

陷阱的表面含有一種綠色的物質

that lets it convert the sun's energy into sugar

讓它將太陽的能量轉化為糖分

through a process called photosynthesis.

通過一個叫做光合作用的過程。

So then, why bother with the bugs?

那麼，又何必為這些BUG而煩惱呢？

Well, Venus flytraps live in acidic, waterlogged soil

好吧，金星捕蠅器生活在酸性的、積水的土壤中。

that doesn't have many nutrients.

那沒有多少營養成分。

So, instead of slurping up nitrogen and phosphorus

所以，與其吞噬氮和磷，倒不如說是在吞噬氮和磷

through its roots, it needs to borrow some from the bugs.

通過它的根基，它需要向蟲子們借一些。

That explains why it shares its home

這就解釋了為什麼它要分享它的家

with other hungry carnivorous plants,

與其他飢餓的肉食植物。

like pitcher plants and sundews,

如盆栽和蘇鐵。

which could only mean one thing:

這隻能說明一件事。

North Carolina is not a fun place to be a bug.

北卡羅來納州不是一個有趣的地方，是一個蟲子。