X-Message-Number: 16090
Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2001 19:16:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: Re: fly longevity experiments

In  Message #16082 Kennita Watson <> wrote:

> 3) How many flies does each bottle start out with?
>
Variable: usually something between 15 to 35.
 
> 4) I keep reading about fruit flies laying eggs at 2 days and
> having a life span of 2 weeks.  Are the bottles multigenerational?
>
  Taurine is a standard additive to the fly food, which acts as a
non-toxic larvicide. Since there are no offspring, only the original flies
are tracked throughout their lifespan. This is a much easier, and less
time consuming method to obtain longevity data, than that used by
scientists in their published fly longevity findings. They gas newly born 
flies, sex them, and then regularly regas them to change the fly food, and
remove any dead flies. In my experiments the fly food is never changed,
and the fly corpses are never removed, once an experiment is
started. Fly ages at the begining of my experiments are
indeterminant, and variable. 
  The survival statistics in my experiments compare well with
that of published experiments. However the storage temperature in my
experiments is not regulated. Since temperature has been known to affect
insect longevity, via alterations in metabolic rate, then strict
comparisons between my experiments, and published ones can not be
made. Also comparisons between experiments can also not be made, because
both storage temperature changes, and the average age of the flies used
will also vary.

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