Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had a culture of wingless mel. and then a week later i noticed some hopping around in there with wings! what is this? i am guessing wild one have got in some how and laid eggs, but their wings dont seem to be usable. Has anyone seen this?

Thanks
Ryan

There are a lot of people in the hobby who are confused as to what flies they are selling. There are at least 3 normal mutant strains of flies that are used in these hobbies that don't fly: 1) "true" wingless, 2) vestigial winged, and 3) "dumpy winged" or "flightless" fruit flies.

The "true" wingless have just a nub where the wings should be that is very difficult to see. The vestigial winged flies have tiny, shriveled wings, and the dumpy or "flightless" have wings that are somewhat normal looking, but about 1/3 the size of the wild-winged counterparts.

There is always the chance of spontaneous mutation back to the wild-winged, but it is unlikely. If your flies still can't fly, check to see if maybe you weren't sold flightless fruit flies as wingless. This is a common mistake.

In my experience, the flightless or "dumpy winged" melanogasters are far more prolific than the wingless. Maybe someone else has had different results, but I have heard this from other people as well.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

I guess I should feel lucky. I have heard that no matter what type you get that over time they can revert back. I have been using the same line of mel. since I started. No fliers and nothing but good results.
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Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators
0.0.2 D. ventrimaculatus

It's really not quite that common for reversions. I can't remember the exact figure from my genetics classes, but spontaneous reversions are quite rare. However, the sheer number that we raise over a 1 year period is quite staggering when you think about it, and it only takes one reversion to quickly create a substantial percentage of fliers.

I have similarly been using the same "line" of melanogasters and hydei for about a year now with no problems. I think you're more likely to have problems of fertility from long line breeding than fliers . . . of course fliers aren't a problem with hydei. Nonetheless, I don't think there's a lot to worry about.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

Thanks for all the replys, and they were wingless you can tell quiet easily. Also I have a feeling they were contaminated with a wild strand, because the ones that can now fly produce so many more! its overflowing so its no problem, just well wierd.

Thanks
Ryan

If you've got fliers, you can almost bet that you had a wild ff contaminate your culture. What type of top are you using? If your cover material is coarse enough, wild fruit flies can sit on you lid and drop eggs into your media. That's a sure-fire way to ruin a good culture of flightless flies.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

Patrick told me to be careful not to mix the flies he carries with those from Petco or I could end up with a percentage of flighted flies. This indeed happened. It makes some sense, especially if the different flightless characteristics are carried on different alleles. My experience also may have been contamination as it happened during the summer when there were a lot of wild fruit flies about.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
3 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
4 D. leukomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus pending

Indeed . . . as I recall, one is X-linked recessive, while the other is autosomal. I can't remember whether the dumpy or vestigial is the X-linked trait, though (it runs in my mind that the dumpy is X-linked; don't hold me to it, though, as that "experiment" was run 8 years ago with 5 or 6 different strains displaying multiple phenotypes).
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense