The purpose of this experiment is to determine if the carnivorous plant- Drosera Capensis- will grow better when fed insects or a protein substitute. During this experiment, 15 plants were split up into three groups of five. The three groups included a tofu fed group, a dead insect fed group and a control group. The tofu and insect fed groups were covered with netting to keep out contaminating insects. The tofu fed group was fed 2000 mg of tofu a week while the dead insect fed group was fed 2000 mg. of dead insects per week. The plants are given 1080 ml. of distilled water each week and were kept on a windowsill with full light exposure. Over the period of four weeks, the growth and death of the plant's leaves were recorded. The data showed that during the period of this experiment, the total percent of leaf growth was greater in the insect fed group. During the weeks of this experiment the insect fed group had an average of 7.53 new leaf growth, while the control group had an average growth of 6.27 leaves. The tofu fed group's leaf growth average was 7.2. The t-Test indicated there was no significant differences between the groups. As a result of the data, the hypothesis that the carnivorous plant would grow better with protein substitutes rather than with dead insects has been rejected.
