In order to incorporate fruit flies in the classroom, it will be necessary to maintain cultures of flies for manipulation in crosses and as a backup for any mishaps which may occur. Culturing is very easy and it is recommended to have students maintain their own cultures of flies.
The fruit fly is capable of rapid reproduction. Hundreds of flies can be born to a single pair. The male and female both reach sexual maturity within 1 week after metamorphosis.
Fruit flies breed all year round. Females' reproductive cycle lasts from 10 days to 3 weeks. Selection of mates is more about timing with females. The correct time will lead to successful copulation.
The fruit fly is a small but efficient baby making machine. Each female can lay 50-70 eggs per day. They can breed a day or two after emerging from the pupa. They go from egg to larva to adult in just over a weeks time.
Introduction#N#In order to incorporate fruit flies in the classroom, it will be necessary to maintain cultures of flies for manipulation in crosses and as a backup for any mishaps which may occur. Culturing is very easy and it is recommended to have students maintain their own cultures of flies. In that way, each student or group would be directly responsible for the care and long-term maintenance of the flies, including making large culture populations for their crosses. When directly involved, students gain proficiency and a greater understanding of the flies requirements and behavior. The teacher should remain as coach, not lecturer, assisting students in techniques. The instructor needs to maintain stock cultures of all strains and mutants used by students in case the aforementioned unforeseeable incident occurs and student cultures die out or become intermixed. Losing cultures is the exception rather than the rule, and as long as students re-culture their flies on a regular basis and no mass contamination occurs, flies can be maintained for decades.#N#Bottles and vials#N#Thomas Hunt Morgan used glass milk bottles for his experiments and, indeed, any container will do, including baby jars and assorted containers. However, for ease of culturing and transferring cultures, uniform bottles and vials are the best approach. Both can be purchased from a biological supply store. Bottles are used mainly for the maintenance of large populations of flies whereas culture vials are useful for maintaining smaller populations and are the preferred container for constructing student crosses. If there is a desire to maintain stock cultures for a long period of time, or to reuse bottles and vials it is important completely clean and sterilize them. This is to prevent outbreaks of pests and diseases.
Fruit flies are easily obtained from the wild and many biological science companies carry a variety of different mutations. In addition these companies sell any equipment needed to culture the flies. Costs are relatively low and most equipment can be used year after year.
Another way to keep flies chilled is adding water to zip-lock type freezer bags, place in the freezer with a petri dish nestled on the bag, and allow to freeze. Transferring flies from one vial to another. Flies should be transferred every 10 to 14 days.
In order to incapacitate the flies, place the culture vial in the freezer until the flies are not moving, generally 8-12 minutes. Dump the flies onto a chilled surface. This can be constructed by using the top of a petri dish, adding crushed ice, then placing the bottom of the petri dish on top.
Drosophila melanogaster is a small, common fly found near unripe and rotted fruit. It has been in use for over a century to study genetics and behavior. Thomas Hunt Morgan was the preeminent biologist studying Drosophila early in the 1900’s.
To clean bottle and vials, first freeze them to kill any flies in them. Remove the food, wash well, then sterilize by autoclaving (for 20 minutes at 121°C and 15 psi; if containers are plastic, be sure they can be autoclaved) or washing in a 10% chlorine bleach solution.
Thomas Hunt Morgan used glass milk bottles for his experiments and, indeed, any container will do, including baby jars and assorted containers. However, for ease of culturing and transferring cultures, uniform bottles and vials are the best approach. Both can be purchased from a biological supply store.
The fruit fly is a harmless little fly that we usually find buzzing around our produce. In this lesson we will cover the reproduction, gestation and breeding cycle of the fruit fly. Create an account.
Gestation period for fruit flies is only 24 to 30 hours. The female will lay eggs on fermenting fruit. They can lay around 50 to 70 eggs per day after reaching full sexual maturity. At an ideal temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, eggs hatch within 24 hours.
The third instar larva will also feed on the fruit but also start to make its way up and out to a clean area where it can dry off and pupate. This process takes 30 hours to happen. Pupa to adult takes around 3 to 4 days. The adult fly emerges and now has wings, legs, genitalia etc.
Hundreds of flies can be born to a single pair. The male and female both reach sexual maturity within 1 week after metamorphosis. The males seem to have sex combs on their legs, and while they are assumed to be linked to mating, it doesn't effect them when removed.
Fertilization takes place internally. The female can store sperm in a seminal receptacle (tubes leading to their uterus) or the spermatheca (a pair of mushroom shaped chambers connected to the uterus to store sperm). Gestation. Gestation period for fruit flies is only 24 to 30 hours. The female will lay eggs on fermenting fruit.
The males posses sex combs and a dark hind. They're found on every continent except the southern polar region. They cannot survive in extreme climates. The ideal breeding climate is cool to warm and humid. Basically the only way to get away from them is to move to Antarctica or very hot and dry deserts.