Unraveling the Mystery of Little Flies from Trash

[quasar987]

When one neglects to take out the trash or let unwashed dishes accumulate, one sometimes see little flies gravitate around the mess.

I wonder where do these little flies come from? It seems they span directly from the junk, but I fail to see how "crust of spagetti sauce on a plate --> the miracle of life" !

Plz shed light on this for me!

Thx

 

[turbo]

Those are fruit flies, and they can emerge from fruits and vegetables in the trash or merely sitting on the counter (like tomatoes, etc sitting out). They can also breed in sheltered areas in sink drains, vent pipes, etc.

 

[jim mcnamara]

They are probably fruit flies. They are attracted to things like polyalcohols that are given off by certain foods in decay and obviously decaying fruit.

In the fall their population peaks, and you start seeing them in your house. If you leave fruit out and it actually rots, those guys will have babies - maggots. Which make more adult flies - takes about 2 weeks from egg to adult; the adults live for probably 4-5 weeks. All of these times are for 20C room temperature.

 

[Evo]

I've always thought that fruit brought in has eggs laid in/on them and left to spoil, the eggs will by then hatch. Spaghetti wories me, but I've seen gnats and moths hatch out of dried beans and pasta.

Whenever I buy things like that, I immediately decant them into sealed jars and wait a few days to see if anything hatches before I use it.

 

[jmnew51]

In the fall their population peaks and you start seeing them in your house.

You ain't kidding.

Jim