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Do Venus flytraps have something over humans? These plants can "count" in order to trap and feed on victims, which humans cannot if they don't learn to.

The flytrap does this by adjusting itself to the frequency of stimulation of its hairs. By counting, the flytrap is able to identify the movements of its prey and then create chemical signals alerting the plant. The trap shuts in one-tenth of a second, making it a certain meal, said the study titled "The Venus Flytrap Dionaea muscipula Counts Prey Induced Action Potentials to Induce Sodium Uptake."

Uni­ver­sity of Washington's Dr. Liz Van Volken­burgh noted that the action is quite awesome. "Obviously, it doesn't have a brain to go 'one, two, three, four,'," Van Volken­burgh said, according to the New Scientist. "Effectively, it's counting. It's just not thinking about it."

The lead scientist of the study is the University of Wurzburg's Professor Rainer Hedrich. "The carnivorous plant Dionaea muscipula, also known as Venus flytrap, can count how often it has been touched by an insect visiting its capture organ in order to trap and consume the animal prey," Hedrich said, according to the Mirror.

The researchers first simulated sensory actions into the Venus flytrap and found, following the first one, that it had been preparing to feed. By the fifth touch, the plant began to generate enzymes for digestion.

"The number of action potentials informs the plant about the size and nutrient content of the struggling prey. This allows the Venus flytrap to balance the cost and benefit of hunting," Hedrich added.

Thus, the plant determined how much of its energy needed to be consumed while capturing its prey.