| Name: |
Fruit Fly |
| AKA: |
Fruity, Juice |
| Scientific Name: |
Drosophila melanogaster |
| Description: |
Approximately 1/16 inch; short body in proportion to
its oval wings; color yellowish to reddish brown with prominent compound
eyes that usually are a rust color. Abdomen round and slightly pointed
in females. Wings are sometimes spotted or stripped. * Note: See the
Zoom-In page of this web site for more fascinating images of
the Fruit Fly. |
| Diet: |
Adults feed on decaying fruit and other decaying food
matter, as well as they drink nectar or other sugary solutions in
ponds, marshes or swamps. Larvae feed on yeast growing on the surfaces
of healthy and decaying, fermenting fruits. |
| Habitat: |
Anywhere fruit is decaying. They are very apparent where
fruit has fallen and rotted. Sometimes big clouds of fruit flies will
rise in the air when you disturb them. They also like glasses of fruit
juice or wine and can be seen buzzing a glassful, or floating on the
surface. |
| Wanted For: |
Being a nuisance in the house. Mom often wonders how
all those little flies got into the house? Well, the eggs or larvae
are on unwashed fruit skins and can feed on their surface. In a couple
of days eggs hatch and flying adults can be seen around the kitchen.
Also wanted for genetic studies in the classroom or scientific
laboratory. Fruit flies can produce 25 generations in a single year,
making it easy to observe genetic changes over a very short period
of time. Also wanted for crop damage since they can transmit fungal
diseases. The mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) attacks
citrus and other fruits threatening crops. A large program of isolation
and eradication is underway to control the spread of this fruit
fly. It has been successful in California.
|
| Last Known Location: |
Buzzing around the bananas on the kitchen counter. |
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