Fruit flies study in home lab

saswathy679 · September 12, 2020, 7:56am

So as we see that to address my research question I need to first trap fruit flies and culture single line/ pure lines by catching gravid females and identify Native Drosophila melanogaster amongst the native fruit flies from the environment!

Following are my research objectives

Immediate objective
To make Home made media for culturing Native Fruit flies.
To create multiple Single Line culture of Native fruit flies by keeping a bait near kitchen garbage using tomato slice/banana peel and catching gravid females and creating Native Single lines.

Short term Objective
To identify native single culture of fruit flies as Native Drosophila Melanogaster by looking at morphological characteristics relevant to Family Drosophilidae, Genus Drosophila and Species melanogaster

Long term objective
To perform olfactory assay at range of concentrations of IAA (banana essense)
using standard CsBz 2nd instar larvae and Native Drosophila melanogaster 2nd instar larvae and compare their olfactory sensitivity to comment on evolutionary changes in terms of fruit odor smelling!

saswathy679 · September 12, 2020, 8:07am

TRSV - STANDARDIZED
Culturing Fruit Flies At Home Lab

INGREDIENTS
1 egg size Tomato
2 table spoon Rava
1 table spoon Sugar
~150 mL Water (Sanitised bottle)
~15 mL Vinegar (medicine cap)

PREPARATION
Taken a pan turn on flame added ~150ml water ,2 table spoon rava ,1 spoon sugar ,1egg sized tomato smashed . Continually mixed mixture at 10 minutes low flame . Off flame and 5 minutes leave it for cooling .final added ~15ml Vinegar in to whole medium and mixed it well. Look like semi liquid conditions . Directly pure in to well cleaned plastic bottle ~2cm length . Leave it for solidification 24H .

Home Lab :- Bottukadavu Kerala
Date of Media Preparation 4/9/2020 - 5/9/2020

saswathy679 · September 17, 2020, 3:06pm

Locating Observing Fruit Flies

Fruit Flies are more observed fruits and vegetables specially rotten substances. That’s why the flies are more interested in kitchen places ( Kitchen garbage bin ). If want to observed flies , we can kept any kind of fruits Using as a Bait ( Tomato,Banana ). In this picture one day old tomato piece shows large number of flies [20/08/2020]. Flies are more attracted to rotten substance because of the smell .

saswathy679 · September 17, 2020, 3:42pm

Trapping Fruit Flies

We can trapp fruit flies Using Fruit / Rotten Baits . Bait are 2 type Open bait or Closed bait. Both baits are shows different .in the case of open bait we kept a fruit any kind of paper for attracting flies and in the case of closed bait , fruits are kept in the bottle and invited flies after flies were in to the bottle just closed the mouth of bottle that way we trap flies and culture them safely . In open Bait ( Tomato / Banana ) we can trap flies using an empty bottle inverted . When the flies are sitting over the tomato pieces we can movie closely towards the bait very carefully with inverted bottle then put over the fly . So the where going to upwards because of the behavior is negative giotex . Flies are moving upward direction so we can easily trap/transfer flies like this way .

varshvet · September 18, 2020, 3:20am

Very interesting to see the medium being prepared at home----------when homes turn to labs, magic is invented.

karnamdpdurga · September 18, 2020, 9:50am

@saswathy679 This is a very interesting approach! Learnt about this for the first time!

KiranKalakotiR · September 19, 2020, 8:31am

HEY, Interesting!! that you said that Fruit flies are more attracted to rotten fruit and vegetables!! or i would add that fruit flies are less attracted to fresh fruits and vegetables, Sooooo can we make a clear Hypothesis and can we test our Hypothesis by an experimental design??? in order to prove this statement!!

saswathy679 · September 21, 2020, 7:00pm

It can seem as if fruit flies come from out of nowhere to infest a home.Fruit flies typically lay their eggs directly on rotting fruits and vegetables or else inside drains that are not kept clean.

Mangoes attracted fruit flies in wide mouth bottle.Objective is to attract fruit flies using different kinds of fruit Bait. Also this picture shows rotten mango pieces are attracted more than flies comparatively fresh mango pieces.

 Mango Bait
 Bait started date: 10/05/2020.
 Setup time :11:30AM
 Location of Bait : kitchen garbage bin ( sliced mango pieces kept it in a wide mouth plastic bottle )
 Observation : day by day

10/05/2020 – 0 flies
11/05/2020 – 1 flies
12/05/2020 – 10 flies
13/05/2020 – 14 flies
14/05/2020 – 50 flies
17/05/2020 - ~25 above Larvae and Pupae
Condition - Black spongy things appeared on the above mango pieces. Rot condition.

saswathy679 · September 21, 2020, 7:17pm

Open Tomato Bait -

19 August 2020
Time kept Tomato Bait - 15:29PM
Home Lab Location - Bottukadavu Thrissur Kerala.
Humidity - 25°c
Temperature - 33°c - 26°c
Month - August

Less Number of Flies

Next Day

20 August 2020
Time kept Tomato Bait - 13:02PM
Home Lab Location - Bottukadavu Thrissur Kerala.
Humidity - 80°c
Temperature - 33°c - 27°c
Month - August

More Number of Flies

saswathy679 · September 21, 2020, 7:28pm

Definitely. So we can start an experiment with clear hypothesis is Fruit Flies are more attracted rotten fruit comparatively fresh tomato bait. This is my hypothesis and want to prove it’s right or not .

saswathy679 · September 24, 2020, 9:30am

What Are The Feeding Habits Of Fruit Flies?

As fruit flies feed on decaying fruit, vegetables and other organic items; when living outdoors fruit fly numbers will increase over the summer with their numbers being at their highest during the harvest season. Populations that are found indoors with a consistent food sources will be active year-round. Fruit flies are most active during the day and will feed on the surface of overripe or decaying plant matter. They will also feed on honeydew (secretions) that is produced by aphids.

saswathy679 · November 15, 2020, 1:17pm

Frut Flies Culture at Home Lab

During the Lock down period started to finding native Drosophila melanogaster at locality area and started trapping flies using tomato bait and culturing flies in special home made TRSV medium. Want to find out Drosophila melanogaster flies for further study’s at home lab.

Fruit Flies Culture - Bottukadavu Home Lab.

Successfully Culturing Fruit Flies at Home.

saswathy679 · March 15, 2021, 4:34pm

Fruit Flies - Life Cycle
Completed with in 8 Days - (Room temperature).

Photo taken : November 2020
(Flies Life Cycles Taken From One Of Single Line Culture Bottle)

•Female & Male flies mate to get Gravid flies (mother flies).

•Gravid flies (mother flies) lay eggs on bottle wall (0 Day)

•Egg will hatch 30 hours (1 Day & 6 Hours) at room temperature, to form 1st Instar Larave.

•1st Instar Larave - 1Day (24 hours).
•2nd Instar Larave - 2Day (24 hours).
•3rd Instar Larave - 18 hours after form 1st stage of of Pupae.(3rd Day)

•1st Stage of of Pupae - Yellow color appearance (4th Day)
•2nd Stage of Pupae - Light Brown color apperance (5th Day)
•3rd Stage of Pupae - Dark Brown color apperance (6th Day)
•4th Stage of Pupae - Brown Black color apperance (7th Day)

•Next Generation flies emerged on 8th Day.

saswathy679 · March 15, 2021, 4:44pm

During day time fruit flies showing different kinds of activities on this half piece of one tomato.

•Matting.
•Courtship behavior.
•Feeding tomato pieces.
•Walking.
•Flying.

Date of video :20/09/2020
Time of video :12:30pm
Location : Kitchen Garbage Bin

saswathy679 · March 22, 2021, 8:04am

Fruit flies observed on a slice of Banana. Doing some kinds of activities like Feeding banana, Walking over there, Shows courtship behavior (If a female fruit fly is receptive to mating, she responds to male pheromones and courtship songs by engaging in a behavior), Some of them taking rest on the bait. Date of observation 22 march 2021 - 11:07am. Location - Kitchen out side.

saswathy679 · March 22, 2021, 8:17am

Banana Bait

22 March 2021
Banana Bait Kept Time - 11:00AM
Banana Kept Place - Kitchen Out Side
Humidity - 64%
Temperature - 37 / 25 °C
Month - March (Summer Season)
Observation - 11:07 Observed 10 More Flies Present Over the Banana Slice.
Home Lab - Bottukadavu Thrissur Kerala.
Picture Credit - @saswathy679

drishtantmkawale · March 22, 2021, 9:24am

What do you plan further with the fruitflies that you have observed?
Did you greet them just for a one-time visit or you are planning to trap them?

drishtantmkawale · March 24, 2021, 5:47am

But why do you want to trap the fly?
What are the objectives?
I remember that you had three-four single line culture series that were the first one in the CUBE HomeLab Movement prepared with the TRSV Medium.
What happened to them? Could you elaborate on them?

saswathy679 · March 26, 2021, 2:39pm

Iam trying to find out drosophila melanogaster from around my native area. So that’s why Iam making more single line culture using one gravid fly. After getting progeny’s of that species tried to identified them looking at their morphological characters (Head, Wing, Thorax, Abdomen).
Currently I have 4 single line cultures in my home lab, also I tried to identified them at Family - Drosophildae ,Genus - Drosophila level. Making more single line cultures will help us to identification process will become easier, we can compare both different single cultures flies body features, even we will get similar species flies (e.g Drosophila melanogaster - wild one) from native place.

saswathy679 · March 27, 2021, 8:20am

SINGLE LINE CULTURES
Cube Home Lab - Bottukadavu Thrissur Kerala.

SLBK A
Single Line Bottukadavu Kerala

Mother : A fly
Single line culture started on : 26/05/2020
Stock culture (e.g) : A10 (maintain A species flies in stock culture bottles, that will help us to keep that fly progeny’s without loosing)
Stock culture made on : 13/12/2020
Media : TRSV, made on : 12/12/2020

A Progeny’s : ~70 more flies.
Larvae : ~50 larvae.
Pupae : ~100 hatched & un hatched pupae.
Dead flies : ~40 more
SLBK A10 is shows a healthy bottle .

31 Days old culture bottle
Video taken : 14/01/2021
Video captured by : @saswathy679

SLBK B
Single Line Bottukadavu Kerala

Mother : B fly
Single line culture started on : 26/05/2020
Stock culture (e.g) : B10 (maintain B species flies in stock culture bottles, that will help us to keep that fly progeny’s without loosing)
Stock culture made on : 13/12/2020
Media : TRSV, made on : 12/12/2020

A Progeny’s : ~100 more flies.
Larvae : ~80 larvae.
Pupae : ~100 hatched & un hatched pupae.
Dead flies : ~50 more
SLBK B10 is shows a healthy bottle .

41 Days old culture bottle
Video taken : 23/01/2021
Video captured by : @saswathy679

SLBK C
Single Line Bottukadavu Kerala

Mother : C fly
Single line culture started on : 11/06/2020
Stock culture (e.g) : C10 (maintain C species flies in stock culture bottles, that will help us to keep that fly progeny’s without loosing)
Stock culture made on : 13/12/2020
Media : TRSV, made on : 12/12/2020

A Progeny’s : ~90 more flies.
Larvae : ~60 larvae.
Pupae : ~90 hatched & un hatched pupae.
Dead flies : ~30 more
SLBK C10 is shows a healthy bottle .

41 Days old culture bottle
Video taken : 23/01/2021
Video captured by : @saswathy679

SLBK E
Single Line Bottukadavu Kerala

Mother : E fly
Single line culture started on : 20/08/2020
Stock culture (e.g) : E10 (maintain E species flies in stock culture bottles, that will help us to keep that fly progeny’s without loosing)
Stock culture made on : 13/12/2020
Media : TRSV, made on : 12/12/2020

A Progeny’s : ~80 more flies.
Larvae : ~60 larvae.
Pupae : ~100 hatched & unhatched pupae.
Dead flies : ~30 more
SLBK E10 is shows a healthy bottle .

41 Days old culture bottle
Video taken : 23/01/2021
Video captured by : @saswathy679