That's a good question, I have the cultivar Triffid's Traps and now and then, a couple of the traps will close then go to the digestion phase for no apparent reason. They'll open up; then again close up and go to the digestion phase again.

What kind of cultivar is your VFT? Maybe it has to do with the cultivar. Earlier, I was suspecting is it could be they spray bottle. If the bottle is new, I have discovered long time ago, the nuzzle sometimes have mineral oil. It has been the cause for my sundewÂs tentacles to wrapping up before I discovered the reason a coupe of years back. ThatÂs why I dismantle the nuzzle and wash them with detergent before using them. IÂm wondering if I didnÂt do a good job of washing the one I got now and if itÂs having the same effect to my VFT by stimulating them to close and making them go to the digestion phasee. But to date, itÂs only my TriffidÂs Trap thatÂs doing this and not the rest of my VFT collection, nor is it stimulating my sundews in wrapping its tentacles close.

So could it be something quirky related to the cultivar?

This is completly normal. in winter the traps usually close and then turn black.
My plant does it too.
Good luck,
Adrian

Hmm... That is great information.. but I don't water by spray bottle... I pour it out of completely washed Powerade 32oz bottle. I don't think that's the problem because I used that bottle ever since I got the plants that they love it.

The type of plants I got is believed to be Red Line.

I thought it was typical, at some point even B52, but now it is officially confirmed as Red Line due to the red line it makes on the outside of the lobes along the edge.

Many of my plants (or even all) are red line.. which make me think it's actually Typical... But then again I got them all at the same place on the same day (Home Depot).

None of my other VFTs close unless they got a good reason.

I was assuming that it could be the spray bottle but like I said, the rest of my VFT don't close in that manner and go to the digestion phase, open up then close and go through the cycle again. Only my Triffid's Traps does that and it does it through its growing period. Always one or two traps.

Maybe some cultivars go dormant slower than others.

The only point of similarity here is that my Venus Flytrap closes one or more of its traps when it gets a cold spike, like when I get really nasty about winter cold and add 8 bottles of frozen water around its pot in an ice chest. When it warms up the next day with an open ice chest and some light hitting it, it slowly opens some of its traps. None go completely into the narrowing phase, they just close to keep anything from triggering them... even then, they close after an hour or so, if at all, when accidentally triggered while the plant is dormant.

During the warm growing period, I had several newly sprouted leaves close for no apparent reason; they go to the digestion phase and stay close from 5 to 8 days. Then they open, and then they close later in week again. Goes through the cycle again. When a trap does that, the trap usually dies after it after doing it 3 or 4 times or just stretches way wide and become non-functional. Only my Triffids Traps does this "behavior".

*Are ALL of the traps on the plant doing this, or is it just a few?

*Are they open and closing more than 7 times each? (Normal traps can only open and functionally close approxiamtely 7 times. This is because in order to close the trap the plant must lengthen the cells in its leaf, and after 7 or 8 times it cannot physically stretch the cells any further, and so the leaf either dies, or stretches out and serves another few weeks or days as a photosynthesis leaf, thus still supporting the plant.)

*How much light is your plant getting? (Carnivorous plants react strangely to defiencies in light-sundew will curl the edges of their leaves under and create non sticky leaves, nepenthes will refuse to pitcher at all, sarracenias may go into indefinite dormancy and refuse to grow...)

*What humidity is your plant around? (humidity can have similar effects to light)

*Are you watering it with boiled water, spring water, rain water? (Chemicals in water and soil can cause plants to react strangely, a sort of warning signal)

*Is the plant dying off, attempting to flower, recently been shifted, repotted, gone through any distressing or different experiences that may have triggered abnormal behaviour?

*How many bugs does your plant get? (It may be trying to catch bugs to cure a defeciency in minerals, only their are no bugs, or not enough for it to catch. (Remember the trigger hairs must be continually triggered for at least 5 sometimes more minutes for the trap to begin to digest with most plants, so live bugs are best.)

Other than that I can't really help. :(

IÂm not sure if you are responding to Hero81 or me but the issue, if youÂve read the post. Only a few traps have in my case, four traps in my Triffids Traps and only on that particular cultivar began to go through the phase of closing, digestion phase, then opening. Each trap would do it only 3 or 4 times, then it will become inactive. The rest of the traps on my Triffids and the rest of my VFT growing next to my Triffids have been behaving normally.

It isnÂt a problem, only a weird Âbehavior" that my Triffids manifested since I bought it from California Carnivores last year. It could simply have been the change of environment from CA to AZ. If it will repeat it this spring who knows.