Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox.   SUBSCRIBE
The Kid Should See This

What is Mixotrophy?

Watch more with these video collections:

“Plants and algae get energy from the sun, and animals get their energy from eating plants, algae, and other animals. It’s simple, right? Nope! Nature likes exceptions. Meet the mixotrophs.”

If you’ve ever seen a Venus fly trap, you’ve seen a mixotroph, an organism that can use both phototropy and phagotropy to get its nutrients and energy. These life forms don’t need to choose between photosynthesis and the ingestion of organic matter.

Sundews and phytoplankton are also mixotrophs. Learn about them with this mixotrophy video from the Hakai Institute‘s Long Story Short video series.

mixotrophs
sundew
Then watch these videos next:
• Venus flytraps count to avoid being tricked
• The wild world of carnivorous plants
What’s inside the stomach of a carnivorous Pitcher Plant?

This Webby award-winning video collection exists to help teachers, librarians, and families spark kid wonder and curiosity. TKSST features smarter, more meaningful content than what's usually served up by YouTube's algorithms, and amplifies the creators who make that content.

Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.

🌈 Watch these videos next...

Why would humans want to imitate a slippery, fly-digesting plant?

Rion Nakaya

Why do some male and female animals look different?

Rion Nakaya

Why do fish school?

Rion Nakaya

What’s inside the stomach of a carnivorous Pitcher Plant?

Rion Nakaya

What is Ocean Stratification?

Rion Nakaya

Venus flytraps count to avoid being tricked

Rion Nakaya

Under The Dock, a marine life series by Hakai Institute

Rion Nakaya

The wild world of carnivorous plants

Rion Nakaya

The male rock greenling’s ‘psychedelic rainbow coloration’

Rion Nakaya