Definition 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
Recent Examples on the Web Modern ostracods have giant sperm, too, as does one species of modern fruit fly, writes Becky Ferreira, reporting for Vice.
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Theresa Machemer, Smithsonian Magazine, "Scientists Discover Oldest Sperm Yet Preserved in Amber," 21 Sep. 2020 Instead, his team studied it in flies—specifically, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, known among scientists for their usefulness in biological experiments and among the rest of us for their tendency to flock around compost bins.
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Grace Huckins, Wired, "What Virtual Reality for Flies Teaches Us About Human Vision," 28 Aug. 2020 This bundle of about 600 fruit fly neurons, colored for contrast, allows a fly to integrate and act on information that its senses gather.
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National Geographic, "Beetle behinds, flamingo friendships, and other wonders," 11 Aug. 2020 Instant Action Sprays, a line developed by entomologists, and found that when sprayed on common pests like the German cockroach and the fruit fly, the bugs were knocked down fast.
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Angela Serratore, Good Housekeeping, "Expert Advice on Keeping Your Home Bug Free," 2 June 2020 It’s now so commonly used as a simple model of physical systems that physicists liken it to the fruit fly, biology’s model organism.
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Quanta Magazine, "The Cartoon Picture of Magnets That Has Transformed Science," 24 June 2020 Cover the bedding surface with a piece of plastic sheeting to keep in moisture and reduce the chance of fruit fly infestations.
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Pam Peirce, SFChronicle.com, "How to set up a Bay Area worm compost bin in a time of COVID-19," 19 June 2020 One of those is called doublesex, after the fruit fly version of the gene.
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John Timmer, Ars Technica, "How turtles use temperature to figure out their sex," 17 Apr. 2020 The fruit fly brain itself also has some limitations.
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Diana Kwon, Scientific American, "Largest Brain Wiring Diagram to Date Is Published," 22 Jan. 2020
See MoreThese 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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Time Traveler for fruit fly
The first known use of fruit fly was circa 1753
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