A real pitcher plant catches lots of flies. If you follow these directions, you can make your own pitcher plant. Then see if YOU can catch flies, too. 

Craft by Rhonda Lucas Donald

What You Need

• 6″ x 9″ piece of thin cardboard (about the thickness of a manila folder)
• 11″ piece of thin string or thread
• scissors
• two strips of paper, each 3/4″ by 4″
• pen or pencil
• white glue
• tape (optional)
• crayons, markers, or paints and paint brushes

What You Do

1. Cut out the pitcher plant pattern. Trace it onto a piece of thin cardboard and cut it out.
2. Color one side of the cut-out to look like the inside of the plant. Color the outside bright green.
3. To make the hairs that line the insides of pitcher plants, fold the strips of white paper in half lengthwise. Cut slits in one half of each strip (see drawing A).
4. Apply a line of glue to the uncut side of each strip and carefully glue the “hairs” to the inside of the plant (see pattern). Make sure that the hairs point toward the bottom. (In real pitcher plants, the hairs make it hard for the flies to crawl back out.)
5. Roll the cut-out pitcher plant into a cone shape (see drawing B). Tape or glue the edges of the cone together.
6. Tape or glue one end of the string to the inside front lip of the pitcher plant (see drawing B).
7. Cut out the shapes with the flies on them. Glue each one to a piece of cardboard and cut them both out.
8. Glue the flies back to back onto the loose end of the string. Let them dry.
9. Now your pitcher plant is ready to catch flies! Just flip the fly up and try to get it into the pitcher.
10. When you get good at catching flies, curl the plant’s “hood” down to partly cover the pitcher’s opening. (Roll the hood over your finger and hold it in place for a couple of seconds.) Can your pitcher plant still catch its dinner>

 

 

 

Want to make more crafts?

➡️  Read about pitcher plants!