Early adult experience in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

A technique is described for marking large numbers of the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster as adults eclose. This technique was used to examine the effect of early adult experience with fruit on host response, where the length of exposure to the fruit was determined by the insect rather than the experimenter. Data from videotapes indicated that adults spent several hours on small patches of fruit after eclosion. In laboratory experiments with freshly pulped fruit in cages, flies were proportionately more attracted to the host to which they were exposed (positive experience effects). These results could not be dismissed as the effect of starvation. Additional experiments with rotted fruit ..