Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients (but not energy) from trapping

and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants have adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs and rock outcroppings. Charles Darwin wroteInsectivorous Plants, the first well-known treatise on carnivorous plants, in 1875 Five basic trapping mechanisms are found in carnivorous plants. Pitfall traps (pitcher plants) trap prey in a rolled leaf that contains a pool of digestive enzymes or bacteria. Flypaper traps use a sticky mucilage. Snap traps utilize rapid leaf movements. Bladder traps suck in prey with a bladder that generates an internal vacuum. Lobster-pot traps force prey to move towards a digestive organ with inward-pointinghairs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Insect Eating Plants are mostly found in moist and nutrient deficient soil. These plants want to fulfil their need of nutrient so they lure, catch, kill and digest insects. Some plants are cold-blooded killers without having blood. They trick, they seduce, they trap and they devour- all without a smidgeon of conscience. Heres a short list of the cruelest, meanest plants to ever take root.

1. Nepenthes Tropical Pitcher Plants

The Tropical Pitcher plant, a carnivorous genus of plant, comes in two basic varieties: The first is found at altitudes above 1,000 meters and is fittingly called highland Nepenthes. The second variety flourishes in the tropical lowlands, and mixes or climbs above other plants in the area. Tropical Pitcher plants are as tough as they are beautiful, and grow just as healthily under artificial light as in an enclosed sun room.

2. Venus Fly Trap

Like the Black Widow spider, the Venus Fly Trap ensnares its pray and then unapologetically devours it. The plant emanates a sweet smell, seducing insects to land in its mouth. Almost immediately, the jaws snap shut and a powerful enzyme dissolves the insect into a digestible liquid.

3. Cobra Plants
The Cobra Plant uses womanly allure in order to feed. The leaf coloring commands its preys attention and the sensual smell of nectar draws the insect closer. Once the insect is ensnared, external bacteria set to work breaking the pray down.

4. Bladderworts
In its fresh water environment, the Bladderwort plant is deprived of certain life-preserving nutrients. Instead of keeling over and dying they do the smart thing they eat. A soft touch to the hair of the plant and the bladder sucks in the animal, dissolving the trapped meal in turn.

5. SunDews
The sundew, also known as the scourge of the bog, shows no mercy systematically trapping and eating insects without conscious. The plants small hairs serve three purposes; to attract prey with sweet smells, to wrap around unsuspecting insects and to digest the catch. These arent simply joy kills; the sundew doesnt get certain necessary minerals (such as nitrogen) from the soil and must compensate by consuming insectoid flesh.

6. Rainbow Plants
The rainbow plant (Byblis liniflora), which sparkles colorfully in sunlight, doesnt point towards a pot of gold. On the contrary, unsuspecting prey learn that a brush with this rainbow leads to death and digestion. Native only in Australia and New Guinea, the plant also births a beautiful purple flower.

7. Dewy Pine
The Dewy Pine (Drosophyllum lusitanicum) wafts the pleasant smell of honey into the air. This is just a farce to convince insects to land on the leaves. Tentacles on the leaves smear a thick glue on the insect, suffocating it in the process. Once its dead, digestion enzymes leave nothing behind but the insects exoskeleton.

8. Butterworts
Dont let the name fool you; the Butterwort plant family isnt nearly as sweet as it sounds. Insects that land on the sticky leaves are unable to extract themselves. Before long, that same slime digests the insect giving the plant valuable nutrients.

9. Waterwheel Plant
The waterwheel (Aldovanda vesiculosa) operates similarly to the Venus Fly Trap with a benefit. Where the Venus Fly Trap is land locked, the waterwheel floats freely in of water. And, just like the Fly Trap, its mouth snaps shut on any prey that lands on it.

10. Stinking Passion Flower

Passion doesnt have to have a reason; take the stinking passion flower (passiflora foetida) for instance. The plants leaves capture insects, similar to other carnivorous plants. However, scientists have yet to validate if the plant can even eat the catch or if the plant traps insects just because.

1. 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (approx. 230,000 killed) On Boxing Day 2004, the worst undersea earthquake in 40 years struck off the coast of Sumatra. The quake, measuring at 9.2 on the Richter scale, was so intense that the head of Italys National Geophysics Institute said that even the Earths rotation might have been disrupted. All the planet is vibrating, he told a TV station. As the earths crust heaved at the earthquake epicenter, a series of tidal waves reaching as high as 30 metres were sent smashing into such nearby countries as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and as far away as South Africa. Thousands of unsuspecting locals and tourists alike were washed away. The United Nations estimates that around 230,000 died in the deadly tide. Although tourists could be seen back on some of the beaches within days, a lot of the affected areas have yet to recover five years later.

2. 2005 Hurricane Katrina (approx. 1,836 killed)

Hurricane Katrina was by all accounts a major storm the costliest and one of the most deadly hurricanes in U.S. history. But what really made it stand out was when it broke the New Orleans levees on August 29 and let the Atlantic Ocean flood the historic city. Subsequent images of dead New Orleans residents floating in the floodwaters shocked the world like no other disaster of the decade. For several days the world watched as the earths richest, most powerful country seemed helpless to rescue its own citizens. Canwest reporter Sheldon Alberts surveying the shattered city on September 7 said this: It is clich to say words cannot describe the tableau of human suffering that has unfolded in New Orleans and across the U.S. Gulf Coast over the past 10 days. 3. 2008 Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar (at least 146,000 killed) Cyclone Nargis was a natural disaster made much worse by a disaster of a government. Days before the Category 4 tropical cyclone struck, a Thailand-based disaster preparedness centre, set up after the 2004 tsunami, warned Myanmars leaders exactly what was about to happen. The warnings were ignored. On May 2, Nargis made landfall, bringing 135 mph winds and a 3.5 metre wall of water. Satellite photos of the region which took the brunt of the storm showed that entire islands had submerged and one town had been almost entirely swept away. Afterward a concerned world community begged for three weeks before Myanmars paranoid military junta finally allowed international aid workers in to help. Meanwhile countless people who survived the storm died of injuries, starvation and disease. No full Nargis death toll will ever be known as the government quickly gave up trying to count the dead in order to hide the disasters true extent.

4. 2008 Sichuan earthquake (approx. 87,400) Tremors from the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that hit China on May 12 were felt in parts of at least 10 other countries. At least 64 major aftershocks, ranging in magnitude from 4.0 to 6.1, were recorded within 72 hours of the original quake. Worst of all, the quake struck during the day when children were in school. At least 7,000 schools are believed to have collapsed in Sichuan province at the epicenter, killing 5,335 students. Many schools collapsed instantly while older buildings remained standing, leading citizens to accusations of shoddy and corrupt building practices. In a rare public show of anger in the country, grieving parents who had lost their only child took to the streets, demanding Communist officials pay for what happened. In the end parents were allowed to have a new child and were given money as compensation, if they stopped criticizing the government. 5. 2005 Kashmir earthquake (approx. 79,000) It is a whole generation that has been lost in the worst affected areas, a Pakistani army spokesman said a couple days after this 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit on October 8. Less than two weeks later a UN official called the quake the most difficult humanitarian crisis ever because the scale is huge, the logistics are so difficult and theres such a brutal winter coming on. Landslides and dangerous terrain made travel over the Himalayan roads of northern Pakistan and Pakistanicontrolled Kashmir extremely difficult. Help was slow to come for the victims lying in the debris of their collapsed homes and schools. Perseverance paid off when a 40-year-old woman was dug out alive two months after the quake. 6. Volcanic Eruption in Southern Japan The Shinmoedake volcano on Japans Kyushu Island had erupted after lying inactive for couple of weeks. It was not clear that the eruption was linked to the recent massive earthquakein the northern part of Japan. This eruption was the biggest volcanic activity in Shinmoedake in 52 years, caused huge destruction and panic. The blast could be heard for miles and shattered windows four miles away, the BBC reported. Many people fled the area as the volcano spewed dust, including hot ash and rocks, more than 6, 000 feet in the air- according to the BBC reports.