Fruit Fly

Commonly found in homes, restaurants, grocery stores, and anywhere else where rotting or fermented food or organic matter is present.

Adults and larvae feed on the yeast and fungal growth on overripe, rotting, or fermenting fruits and vegetables.

They are active year-round and can breed quickly in moist, decaying organic matter. They have a very short life cycle, developing from egg to adult in about 8-10 days in ideal temperatures.

They are considered a nuisance pest and can potentially contaminate food with bacteria and other pathogens they carry. In science, they are highly beneficial as a model organism in genetic and biological research.