Scientists have finally proven what Charles Darwin thought over a century ago — a small plant is actually a killer.

'I hope he'd be really excited and want to give us a big high five or two thumbs up,' a University of Florida botanist said. 'I'm imagining him smiling right now.'

A new study says Saxifraga candelabrum, which grows in China, is a carnivorous plant that traps and eats insects with its sticky hairs.

The findings were published 151 years after Darwin first thought that some plants might be predators.

Many Saxifraga plants have hairs that produce a sweet, sticky substance that lures insects in with its scent.

'You'll just see insects stuck to the leaves and stems of these plants. And it makes you wonder: What are they doing with all those insects?' the botanist said. 'That's what fascinated Darwin.' 'It's like they're eating them.' 'It's very interesting.'

Darwin, a famous naturalist, first wrote about Saxifraga plants in 1875 when he saw tiny insects stuck to leaves and stems.

But he couldn't prove the plants were carnivorous. To do that, you have to show the plant can digest the insects it traps and use their materials.

Unfortunately for Darwin, it's not something you can see happening in a field in 1875. But it's something you can observe in a modern lab.

The researchers used a special method to see where the materials from the insects were flowing throughout the plant.

To determine if the plant was eating insects, the researchers used fruit flies raised on food with a special form of nitrogen.

Nitrogen is what the plants are after, says the botanist.

'They're not eating for the same reason we are. They don't need carbon. They can make that. But they really need nitrogen.' 'It's very important for them.' 'They can't live without it.'

Most carnivorous plants are found in bogs and wetlands where the soil is poor in nutrients, says a plant ecologist.

It's possible that Saxifraga candelabrum first developed sticky hairs to keep bugs from eating its seeds, then started eating the bugs.

'Eventually they notice, 'Hey, if there are some nice insects which get stuck, and if we exude some enzymes, then we can also get the nutrients out of them,''

A common flower in B.C. is actually a carnivorous bug eater.

Pitcher plants were found eating baby salamanders in an Ontario park.

But there is a problem. Plants need nutrients, but they also need pollinators. Saxifraga candelabrum has a solution.

'They trap a smaller type of insect, and then larger insects that are the pollinator are not really affected by these hairs,' the botanist said.

The researchers say this study shows there may be more carnivorous plants out there, including among Darwin's beloved Saxifraga genus.

Five years ago, researchers in B.C. discovered a plant that uses a similar method of trapping and eating insects.

'At the time, we predicted that additional examples of carnivory would be discovered, and so it was really gratifying to read this paper and see our predictions coming true,' a UBC botanist said.

'I'm sure there are other examples of plant carnivory out there, waiting for discovery.'

Northern Ontario is home to many carnivorous plants.

There are more than 630 known carnivorous plants in the world, says the U.K.'s Natural History museum.

Some plants snap their leaves shut to trap insects, while others lure prey with a sweet nectar and then drown them.

Some plants can even eat animals beyond bugs. One pitcher plant in Ontario eats salamanders.

It's no wonder Darwin loved carnivorous plants, the botanist said.

'Plants have invented amazing ways to trap insects for nutrients,' he said. 'It's amazing to think of plants turning the tables.'