Venus fly traps (Dionaea muscipula) are only native to North and South Carolina in the United States and can tell the difference between insects that pollinate them and those that make a good meal. Despite not having nerves themselves, they can detect touch from other organisms with highly sensitive sensory hairs. The root of this prey-catching technique is a chemical ion channel named DmMSL10 that surrounds the base of a Venus fly trap’s sensory hairs. The electrical signal and Ca2+ wave then travel from the hairy base of the plant up to the leaf blade. Here, ants moved freely and walked over Venus fly traps that had their natural DmMSL10 ion channel and others that did not.