Where Do Fruit Flies Come From, And Are You Eating Them? | The Curiosity Desk

Fruit flies don’t actually consume much fruit — they’re more interested in yeast and bacteria growing on rotten fruit, says entomologist Tanya Latty.

This week, Westborough resident Wayne Firstenberg asks a question that has long bugged him: “Where do fruit flies come from ? It's an annoying miracle to me that they just suddenly appear on my aging fruit.”

We discovered why your kitchen is a dream home for fruit flies. And, yes, that does mean that if a small colony takes flight when you pick up a ripe banana on, say, a Thursday, there’s a pretty good chance you might have gobbled up some of its siblings earlier in the week.

And, while this “annoying miracle” of an insect may be bothersome on your bananas, it’s also been a boon for biochemistry.

Fruit fly video clips courtesy of ‪@sci-inspi‬ and ‪@agroscopevideo‬
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