Pinguicula villosa, one of the world's smallest butterworts, in an Arctic bog

Chasing the Tiny Predator: My Hunt for One of the World's Smallest Butterworts in the Arctic

January 13, 2026

Picture this: it's a rainy summer morning in Tromsø, Norway, and I'm buzzing with excitement (and a strong cup of coffee). Armed with GPS coordinates from carnivorous plant expert Marc Boomgaren, I'm heading out to track down Pinguicula villosa, one of the smallest and hardest to find butterworts on the planet.

The Setup

The Tiniest Butterwort Around

This tiny carnivore, also called the hairy butterwort, grows in cold, boggy habitats across the far north of Europe, Asia, and North America. Why the obsession? It's not often I'm only a couple of hours away from such a rare and unusual species. And P. villosa is tiny: rosettes smaller than a coin, with delicate purple flowers that are easy to miss unless you're really looking.

Scenic view on the drive to the bog

The Drive

Down Highway E8

The day started early with a little over two hours on Highway E8, winding through fjords and misty mountains toward the Finnish border. Rain? Check. Determination? Double check.

Highway through Norwegian fjords

The Hunt

On My Hands and Knees in the Bog

I parked near a quiet lake and started searching. For over an hour I was on my hands and knees in the wet moss, scanning every inch of the sphagnum bog where they like to grow. Did I mention the hundreds of mosquitoes the entire time? They were out in full force and turned the hunt into a real test of endurance.

Searching the bog

I started to get discouraged. No sign of P. villosa. Nothing.

The Find

There It Was

I sat down in what looked like the perfect spot, wet and boggy, and sent Marc a desperate message asking for more tips. Then, out of the corner of my eye, there it was.

A tiny rosette, no bigger than a quarter inch across. My heart about exploded! It was about 100 meters off the GPS mark, but once I spotted one, dozens more appeared.

No open flowers this time. They bloom earlier in the season. But the leaves alone were a thrill: fuzzy, sticky, and perfectly built to catch tiny insects. The old flower stalks, with their distinctive hairs, were still standing, which made for a positive ID.

Close up of Pinguicula villosa

I spent a couple of great hours with them, mosquitoes and all, taking photos, spotting Pinguicula vulgaris and Drosera rotundifolia growing nearby, and eating a well earned picnic lunch in the middle of it all.

Final Thoughts

Why I Love This Hobby

Feeling victorious, I crossed into Finland for a quick detour to Kilpisjärvi, an Arctic village with amazing views of lakes and fells. A hot coffee and a fresh pastry were the perfect reward before heading back to Tromsø for dinner with family and friends.

What a day. Moments like this remind me why I love carnivorous plants: the thrill of the hunt, how strange and amazing these plants are, and yes, even surviving the mosquitoes. I also found wild Pinguicula vulgaris on a family hike near Tromsø.