fruit fly
nounDefinition of fruit fly
: any of various small dipteran flies (such as a drosophila) whose larvae feed on fruit or decaying vegetable matter
Examples of fruit fly in a Sentence
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Pests controlled: Yellow traps attract whiteflies, fruit flies, male winged scales, leafhoppers, fungus gnats, midges, male winged mealybugs and leafminers, thrips, psyllids, and winged aphids. — The Editors Of Organic Life, Good Housekeeping, "The 7 Best Organic Pest Control Techniques For Your Garden," 18 Dec. 2017 In the last two decades, researchers have identified sleep-like behavior in fruit flies, tiny nematodes, and even a brainless jellyfish. — Michael Greshko, National Geographic, "Brainless Creatures Can Do Some Incredibly Smart Things," 21 May 2018 Until now, the four genes were thought to be one, NOTCH2NL, itself a spinoff of the NOTCH gene family, which controls the timing of development in everything from fruit flies to whales. — Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, "Trio of genes supercharged human brain evolution," 31 May 2018 Formal studies have shown that the sweetener erythritol, which is approved for human consumption, can be fatal to fruit flies, suggesting it could be used as an insecticide. — Anna Diamond, Smithsonian, "Do Marine Mammals Yawn and More Questions From Our Readers," 28 June 2018 The residence was full of trash and dirty dishes, as well as clothes, and fruit flies were seen upstairs. — Harriet Sokmensuer, PEOPLE.com, "Teen Girl with Disabilities Suffered a 'Slow Death' from Her Mother's Neglect, Authorities Allege," 13 June 2018 Pastor-Pareja, the geneticist who gave up Yale for Beijing, specializes in studies of cell biology using fruit flies – Drosophila melanogaster. — Author: Ben Guarino, Emily Rauhala, William Wan, Anchorage Daily News, "China challenges American dominance of science," 4 June 2018 Pastor-Pareja, the geneticist who gave up Yale for Beijing, specializes in studies of cell biology using fruit flies — Drosophila melanogaster. — Ben Guarino, Washington Post, "China increasingly challenges American dominance of science," 3 June 2018 While this infection is likely extremely rare, according to a press release, another species of Thelazia eye worm has spread across Europe in recent years, carried by fruit flies. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "Woman Infected by Parasitic Cattle Eye Worm," 14 Feb. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fruit fly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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