A Washing Machine in Miniature? Digestive Fluid Cycling in Drosera scorpioides

While filming my Drosera scorpioides digesting a small fly, I stumbled across something unexpected: visible waves of digestive fluid being pumped into the insect and then reabsorbed — almost like a tiny washing machine cycle. You can actually see the liquid being flushed into the prey and then drawn back into the plant in repeating pulses.

At first, I thought it was just a one-off visual quirk, but the rhythm was too clear and consistent to ignore. It seems as though the plant soaks the insect in enzymes to break it down, then absorbs the resulting nutrient-rich soup, before repeating the process. I didn’t expect such a dynamic, cyclical digestive pattern in a sundew — and especially not one this small.

Here’s the video:

I haven’t seen this behavior described in detail before – could this be a common mechanism that just isn’t often observed? Or something unique to pygmy sundews under certain conditions?

If anyone out there has more insight into what’s happening here – whether botanical, microscopic, or just plain curious — I’d love to hear your thoughts!