Why do fruit flies "bleed"?

Snipes

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
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Feb 25, 2005
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We are having an infestation of fruit flies in my dorm suite at college. Sometimes when they are squished, red stuff that looks like blood comes out. They dont suck blood do they? Any ideas what it is?
 

Gigas

Arachnoprince
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Apr 6, 2006
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more thanlikely something in the digestive tract, most fruits when left to rot turn a reddy colour, eg. apples
 

Stylopidae

Arachnoking
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Jul 7, 2005
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I do know that the red stuff only comes from the head...it may have something to do with the eyes.
 

andy83

Arachnoknight
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Nov 5, 2004
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186
Yeah,

I've wondered this myself. It seems to only come from the head(could be wrong) and I think that it's the eyes. They do have beadie little red eyes.

Nice thread
 

MartinW

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 3, 2006
Messages
10
The "red stuff" is actually the pigment from the eyes rather than blood. There are various mutants used in research which either have no eye pigment and therefore do not stain your clothes when you squash them or large amounts of pigment that make a right mess on your lovely clean t-shirt :)
 

CopperInMyVeins

Arachnolord
Old Timer
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Mar 28, 2006
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638
Definitely the eye pigment, I know that when my mantis eats them, the eye pigment gets all over the jaws, and actually makes them easier to see in outline, does look like blood a bit, sorry for the bad pictures, bad lighting. You can see it in the second picture.


 

the_frog_kid

Arachnoknight
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Feb 13, 2006
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159
flies

it could also be forid flies they have red pigment in their body and eyes even tho you cant see it in their bodies




thanx froggy
 

Frogsarethapoop

Arachnoknight
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Jul 26, 2006
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Ok so I tested this out last night at the lab. I squished a wild type Drosophila and there was a red stain on the paper. I squished a purple eyed mutant and there was a purple stain on the paper. I squished a white eyed mutant and there really wasn't anything I could see, and I squished an orange eyed mutant and the paper streaked orange. Definately the pigment in the eyes!
 

Thoth

Arachnopharoah
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Jun 9, 2005
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1,321
Drosophila derserve no better fate than that.

FrogmanJ, be careful with the drosophila or you will end up with infestations everywhere you go. (When teaching genetics lab because students didn't bother to properly handle them, ended up with fruit flies in my car, in my house, at my parents et c..)
 
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