Fruit fly larvae and wasp
What's the News: Fruit fly larvae have unusually high alcohol tolerance, which scientists used to think was because they happen to feed on yeast in rotting fruit. Turns out they're in it for the alcohol, too---as medication. According to a new study
*, alcohol protects them from the wasp parasites that lay eggs in fruit fly larvae. How the Heck
Two groups of
(fruit fly) larvae were fed food either with or without ethanol. Researchers observed that wasps are less likely to lay their eggs into larvae that have eaten alcoholic food.
When the wasps did lay their eggs in the alcohol-fed fruit fly larvae, they were less likely to survive. Dissections revealed that wasp larvae developing in the alcoholic environmental had abnormalities like inverted body parts.
Fruit fly larvae usually have a natural immune response to the parasite, but alcohol seems to ...
