Sexual Selection and Fruit Flies

The article I read talks about wing color in male fruit flies. The transparent wings of fruit flies flash colors when against a dark background. The amount of color they flash is dependent on the width of the wing. They discovered this a couple of years ago. However, what they did not know was that the color of the males fruit fly wings actually play a part in how the female fruit fly chooses a reproductive partner. Professor Erik Svensson from Lund University says, "Our results will hopefully stimulate more research on wing interference patterns in other species, and increase interest in the role that the light environment plays in mate choice," So, hopefully there is more knowledge on fruit flies and sexual selection to come.

 

 

This article caught my eye because it was talking about fruit flies and how the females choose reproductive partners. Obviously, I found this interesting since we did a lab experiment involving fruit flies and reproduction. After reading this article it made me wonder if the color of the males wings may have skewed our data and results at all. They could have possibly changed the results since we assumed the mating was random and it may not have been. Also, I find it fascinating how such a simple creature can do such complex things like, thoughtfully choose a mate.