Fruit flies

Quick Take

• A tiny kitchen pest has quietly earned multiple Nobel Prizes. Find out why scientists can't get enough of it.
• Its larvae look nothing like the adult, and one hidden stage gives the transformation away early.
• Males woo mates with a tune. What happens next is surprisingly specific.
• Cleaning up food isn't always enough to banish them. The article reveals what else matters, and a homemade trap that might do the trick.

Fruit flies are among the most common household pests in the world. When they get into homes and feed on decomposing food, they can be a big annoyance to people. A few species are also agricultural pests and do immense damage to crops. But fruit flies do have their beneficial uses. They are considered to be among the most important “model organisms” in the world, extensively studied for their insights into biology.

3 Incredible Fruit Fly Facts

• Fruit flies are some of the most common research organisms in the world. They have played a pivotal role in genetic, evolutionary, and microbial research because of their short generational times and their interesting genetic properties. Multiple Nobel Prizes have been awarded for research done on fruit flies.
• The fruit fly undergoes four different stages: the egg, the larva, the pupa, and the adult.
• One of the most interesting facts is that fruit flies can beat their wings about 200 times a second.

Species, Types, and Scientific Name

Fruit flies can be defined as any number of fruit-eating species in the family Drosophilidae (which means dew-loving in Greek). The most well-known species is the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Other common fruit flies, such as the Mexican, Mediterranean, olive, and citrus fruit flies, belong to a separate family, Tephritidae. There are altogether more than 4,000 species in the family. They are members of the fly order Diptera.

Appearance

These insects are easy to mistake for the common housefly. Both feature the same relatively large head and eyes, the tube-shaped abdomen, and a pair of large wings. But there are a few distinctive features that should help with identification, including the bright red eyes (though some individuals sport darker eyes) and the tan or brown-colored body with black rings along the abdomen. Adults are generally no larger than a fraction of an inch in size and may be difficult to identify while in flight.

The larvae, by contrast, look nothing like the adults. These small worm-like creatures have no legs or wings and few other visible body parts anywhere. When it is ready to transform, the larva will find a secluded spot and encase itself in a hard shell. This is known as the pupa stage. A day before the fly emerges from the shell, the red eyes and wings can sometimes be seen through the surface.

Fruit Flies vs. Gnats

Fruit flies are sometimes mistaken for common gnats because they both like to feed on some of the same overripe or rotting foods in the home. But while they’re both members of the fly order Diptera, the gnat is traditionally grouped with the mosquito rather than the fruit fly. It even looks quite a bit like a mosquito with a slender body and wings.

Habitat

Fruit flies are found all over the world except in the extreme cold of the north and south. They occupy grasslands, forests, swamps, coasts, and other locations, often hovering near plants. They become particularly abundant in the spring and summer months and spend the winter secluded in warm spots.

Diet

Fruit flies are generally omnivores. They will scavenge for whatever overripe or decomposing food bits they can find in the wild or human homes.

What eats the fruit fly?

Fruit flies are preyed upon by a diverse range of animals. They’re trapped in spider webs, foraged by birds, eaten by frogs, and targeted by other insects such as ants and beetles, especially in the larval stage. They are also preyed upon by numerous small reptiles and mammals.

What does the fruit fly eat?

As the name of this animal suggests, the fruit fly generally feeds on fruits, sweets, and other plant material. The eggs are laid directly on the surface of overripe fruit and other decaying material. They will continue to eat until they’ve gathered enough energy to complete the transformation into an adult. The adult fruit fly consumes a much wider range of different plant foods, but some species are specialized for a specific type of fruit or plant.

Reproduction

In order to attract a mate, males actually play a courtship song by vibrating their wings. If the female accepts, then they will spend about 15 or 20 minutes copulating. Females lay their eggs in rotting fruit, meat, and other organic material where standing water is present. After the larva passes through a few molts, it will surround itself with a hard shell and transform into an adult. The entire lifespan normally lasts some 25 to 50 days. The fruit fly undergoes four different stages: the egg, the larva, the pupa, and the adult.

Prevention: How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

The most important step in prevention is to always make sure fruits, sweets, and other bits of food are cleaned up and put in their proper place where the flies cannot easily reach them. Once food begins to seriously decompose, it should be immediately thrown away in a responsible manner. Because they can still get into the trash bin and garbage, make sure the food is properly disposed of away from the house. Leaky or unclean drains should be fixed as soon as possible because they can serve as breeding grounds for fruit flies. You should also wipe counters regularly and clean any spills.

While removing all potential sources of food is sometimes sufficient to end the problem, they are very good at finding bits of food accidentally spilled or left out. If they don’t go away, then it may necessitate a more proactive approach. In order to kill individual flies, a simple swatter, trap, or spray will usually work quite well. You can create your own trap at home by placing some apple cider vinegar, sugar, and dish soap in a bowl of water to attract flies and trap them. But in order to deal with a wider infestation or breeding ground, you may need to make use of more powerful control methods such as insecticides, bleach, and other chemical treatments.

You should ideally pursue all of the above strategies at the same time to maximize the odds of removing an infestation. Expert pest control is only necessary as a last resort once all other methods have failed.