Flightless fruit flies, not so flightless!

[Bugmankeith]

I bought an older culture of flightless fruit flies from Petco. When I opened the jar a handful flew away and some glided a foot or more. After reading I learned after a few generations these can start producing flying individuals and from there you pretty much are going to have flying stock. I let them go outside and bought new stock that doesn't fly.

What's interesting is science companies sell mutated fruit flies with various eye colors, body colors, and wing types, you can make your own flightless hybrids with your flies for fun!

 

[PookaDotted]

Yes! it also depends on HOW the fruitflies BECAME flightless. Some are bred to have weird wings that are crumpled so they can fly for a short distance but not very well it more like hopping. Theres also a type that the muscles that control the wing movements are rendered useless by a means of which I have no idea, and then they cant fly at all, only crawl.

 

[Lou]

I have 4 different types of ff's and they are all least 100 +generations allong and they are all still flightless. Often if they become flighted, it's because one of two things.

If they get too hot they can revert back to fliers, but it they crossbreed they will definitely will revert back.

 

[Rick]

Every flightless culture I've ever had eventually started flying after enough generations had passed. When this happens I usually toss those cultures and get fresh ones.

 

[Bugmankeith]

I have 4 different types of ff's and they are all least 100 +generations allong and they are all still flightless. Often if they become flighted, it's because one of two things.

If they get too hot they can revert back to fliers, but it they crossbreed they will definitely will revert back.

How does heat affect DNA? Mine were in my room and average is 80's right now.

 

[twolfe]

I haven't purchased new cultures for over two years now and have been keeping my own going without any that fly. When I was new to the hobby, I ended up with some fliers in one of my Mel cultures. But I read somewhere that Orin posted that phorid flies can sometimes get in your culture and lay eggs. I think that is what I had in my culture.

 

[PookaDotted]

I'm not a genetics expert by any means, but I have been studying biology. DNA in an organism changes, that's why people develop cancers and also why some fruit flies can revert back to flying, all it takes is one mutation of DNA which really is how we came to have flightless fruit flies to begin with.