How does DEET work? Study says it confuses insects (Update)
For almost 50 years, people have used insect repellents containing DEET. But scientists still argue about how the stuff works.
Biochemistry
Sep 21, 2011
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News tagged with fruit flies
Gut bacteria tell the brain what animals should eat
Neuroscientists have, for the first time, shown that gut bacteria "speak" to the brain to control food choices in animals. In a study publishing April 25 in the Open Access journal PLOS Biology, researchers identified two ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 25, 2017
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4365
A new, flying jellyfish-like machine (w/ Video)
Up, up in the sky: It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a... jellyfish? That's what researchers have built—a small vehicle whose flying motion resembles the movements of those boneless, pulsating, water-dwelling creatures.
General Physics
Nov 24, 2013
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Fly-catching robot expands the scope of biomedical research
Since the early 20th century, an unheralded star of genetics research has been a small and essentially very annoying creature: the fruit fly.
Plants & Animals
May 27, 2015
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Applying physics to understanding the mystery of consciousness
An international study involving Monash physicists has cornered a new approach to measure consciousness, potentially changing our understanding complex neurological problems.
General Physics
May 25, 2020
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'Super males' emerge from male-dominated populations, study finds
Males who evolve in male-dominated populations become far better at securing females than those who grow up in monogamous populations, according to new research into the behaviour of fruit flies at the University of Sheffield.
Plants & Animals
May 5, 2016
1
324
The physics behind a water bear's lumbering gait
Plump and ponderous, tardigrades earned the nickname "water bears" when scientists first observed the 0.02-inch-long animals' distinctive lumbering gaits in the 18th century. Their dumpy plod, however, raises the question ...
General Physics
Aug 27, 2021
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Why fruit flies are a good genetic model for human disease study
If you have a Facebook account, you are likely to have seen someone pour an ice bucket on themselves in the name of raising awareness for amyotropic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a disease that affects nerve cells in the ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 29, 2014
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Study suggests genetic basis for same-sex sexual behavior offers evolutionary advantage
(Phys.org)—A trio of researchers with the University of St. Andrews in the U.K. has found what appears to be an evolutionary advantage for same-sex sexual behavior in fruit flies. In their paper published in Proceedings ...
Study shows widespread physical and genomic adaptation to environment can occur within weeks
Think evolution is a slow, gradual process? Tell that to fruit flies. In a new report in Science, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania used a controlled field experiment to show that flies rapidly adapted to shifting ...
Evolution
Mar 17, 2022
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Tephritidae
Bactrocera Ceratitis Paracantha Rhagoletis Tephritis Urophora Euaresta Xyphosia hundreds more
Tephritidae is one of two fly families referred to as "fruit flies". Tephritidae does not include the biological model organisms of the genus Drosophila, which is often called the "common fruit fly". Drosophila is, instead, the type genus of the second "fruit fly" family, Drosophilidae. There are nearly 5,000 described species of tephritid fruit fly, categorized in almost 500 genera. Description, recategorization, and genetic analysis are constantly changing the taxonomy of this family. To distinguish them from the Drosophilidae, the Tephritidae are sometimes called peacock flies.
Tephritid fruit flies are of major importance in agriculture. Some have negative effects, some positive. Various species of fruit fly cause damage to fruit and other plant crops. The genus Bactrocera is of worldwide notoriety for its destructive impact on agriculture. The olive fruit fly (B. oleae), for example, feeds on only one plant: the wild or commercially cultivated olive. It has the capacity to ruin 100% of an olive crop by damaging the fruit. On the other hand, some fruit flies are used as agents of biological control, thereby reducing the populations of pest species. Several species of the fruit fly genus Urophora are questionable in their effectiveness as control agents against rangeland-destroying noxious weeds such as starthistles and knapweeds.
Most fruit flies lay their eggs in plant tissues, where the larvae find their first food upon emerging. The adults usually have a very short lifespan. Some live for less than a week.
Fruit flies use an open circulatory system as their cardiovascular system.
Their behavioral ecology is of great interest to biologists. Some fruit flies have extensive mating rituals or territorial displays. Many are brightly colored and visually showy. Some fruit flies show Batesian mimicry, bearing the colors and markings of dangerous insects such as wasps because it helps the fruit flies to avoid predators; the flies, of course, lack stingers.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
