The Fruit Fly
Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) are well-known insects. Whether you’re a biology student or common resident, you’ve heard of these before. While they are widely used for research and experiments in laboratories, there are also worldwide pests. Fruit flies come wherever food is – they almost seem to appear out of thin air! It can be a nuisance to have them buzzing around your delicious plate of food. They are especially attracted to rotting fruit.
HOW TO IDENTIFY FRUIT FLIES
They are much smaller than house flies or blowflies.
- Their body length is around 4mm
- Females are 3mm
- Males are smaller, with blacker backs
- The abdomen is generally dark in color
- The underside of the fruit fly is grey in color
- They look brown in color to the naked human eye
- Their eyes are usually red in color
- Wild-Type have black stripes across their abdomens
Appearance and Behavior
Fruit Fly. This image was released by the Agricultural Research Service, the research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, with the ID k7500-5 (next)., Public Domain,
Fruit flies are generally easy to identify. They swarm around rotten fruit and even vegetables. They are often seeing flying around garbage bins and are a common sight in many restaurants. Fruit flies were one of the first insects used for genetic research as they have only four pairs of chromosomes and breed at a rapid rate. Fruit flies are found in all corners of the world, including cold places and islands. They are known to spread diseases as they can contaminate food. Outside, they are highly active in the summer. Indoors, they can be active throughout the year.
- They live for 30 days, but breed at an extremely rapid pace. This is why infestations can be hard to get rid of.
- Females lay eggs in fruits, mushrooms, water bodies and decaying organic matter.
- Males can demonstrate courtship dances when attempting to mate with new females.
- They are polygamous. A female can lay 500 eggs at a time which hatch in 30 hours.
Signs
Signs of fruit flies are a physical sighting of the flies around food and other organic matter. Fruit flies flock around rotten, ripe or leftover fruits. They are also attracted to liquor, beer, and wine. If your cupboards and pantry are open, fruit flies may settle on the food in there.
Residents may also spot them breeding in drains, stagnant water, garbage dumps, and trash cans. They even breed on decaying meat and sugary spillages. Their pupae are also an indicator of an infestation. The pupae resemble roach or rat droppings but have a pair of horns on one end. They are often found near dry spots near the infestation areas (which are usually sewage pipelines).