Flightless fruit flies (

Order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advance ...

) encompass a variety of different species of fly, such as ''

Drosophila melanogaster ''Drosophila melanogaster'' is a species of fly (an insect of the Order (biology), order Diptera) in the family Drosophilidae. The species is often referred to as the fruit fly or lesser fruit fly, or less commonly the "vinegar fly", "pomace fly" ...

'', '' Bactrocera cucurbitae'', ''

Bactrocera dorsalis ''Bactrocera dorsalis'', previously known as ''Dacus dorsalis'' and commonly referred to as the oriental fruit fly, is a species of Tephritidae, tephritid fruit fly that is endemism, endemic to Southeast Asia. It is one of the major Pest (organis ...

'', and ''

Drosophila hydei ''Drosophila hydei (mosca casera)'' is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. It is a species in the ''hydei'' species subgroup, a group in the ''repleta'' species group. Bizarrely, it is also known for having ...

'', with genetic mutations that cause them to be flightless. These genetic mutations may have different results such as the development of muscles that cannot support flight or even result in the lack of wings entirely. Flightless fly models have been especially useful for the study of human neuromuscular diseases such as

spinal muscular atrophy Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare neuromuscular disorder that results in the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. It is usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood and if left untreated it is the most common geneti ...

, spinobulbar muscular atrophy,

myotonic dystrophy Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is a type of muscular dystrophy, a group of genetic disorders that cause progressive muscle loss and weakness. In DM, muscles are often myotonia, unable to relax after contraction. Other manifestations may include catarac ...

, dystrophinopathies and other inherited neuromuscular diseases. Applications of flightless flies are extremely varied, even being used as test subjects in aeronautical research.

Uses for feeding pets

Other applications of flightless flies include using them as convenient feeders for a variety of companion animals, usually small

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s such as geckos, being highly versatile due to their small size. Fruit flies are a useful source of protein for captive ant colonies. They can be fed to a colony dead or alive and whilst they are best used for small colonies, fruit flies can also be given to larger ones.

References

{{reflist Schizophora Animal models Myoneural junction and neuromuscular diseases Pet foods Insect common names