Sept. 11, 2000
A lot of people have been complaining about a pesky problem this summer-- lots of fruit flies!
Why are there so many of them, this year?
Lisa Conley has that story.
State entomologists say there are a lot of fruit flies this year, although they're not sure why. All they know is everyone is complaining about them.
Is it safe to eat the fruit they were on?
Entomologists say there could be larva (translation-maggots) on the fruit, that within 30 hours can turn
into more flies. But if you wash the fruit thoroughly, it should be fine. They do not carry disease.
How do you keep them away? They are attracted to ripe fruit, so it's a good idea to cover fruit when you bring it home.
And, here's an interesting tidbit--they don't just eat fruit. We're told they can live on the slime in a drain. They can even thrive on a sour mop or sponge.
Here's another one. Someone with way too much time on their hands calculated that one pair of flies in one year can produce enough eggs that, packed in a ball, would fill the void between the Earth and the Sun.
This could actually turn into a learning project for the kids. If you go to Discovery.com you can find out all you ever wanted to know about fruit flies.
