The midrib of the leaf (which has been transformed into a snap trap) bends slightly downwards in a flash, the trap halves fold in, and the water flea can no longer escape – as part of an interdisciplinary team Anna Westermeier, Dr. Simon Poppinga and Prof. Dr. Thomas Speck from the Plant Biomechanics Group at the Botanic Garden of the University of Freiburg have discovered how this snapping mechanism, with which the carnivorous waterwheel (Aldrovanda vesiculosa) catches its prey, works in detail. The study was carried out in the Collaborative Research Centre “Biological Design and Integrative Structures: Analysis, Simulation and Implementation in Architecture.” In addition to the Freiburg biologists, experts from the Institute of Structural Analysis and Structural Dynamics (IBB) at the University of Stuttgart and from the Institute of Botany at the Czech Academy of Sciences were also involved. The team has published its results in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.