Can Fruit Flies Get Drunk?
WouterResearchers have discovered that fruit flies can self-administer alcohol, similar to how humans do. In studies, researchers mixed alcohol into the flies’ food. They found that flies that drank alcohol showed increased activity, and that the alcohol also reduced inhibitions. These findings are among the first to investigate alcohol self-administration in insects. While human alcoholics are said to have a lower threshold for alcohol, fruit flies show a higher tolerance for alcohol.
Alcohol-intoxicated fruit flies display many of the same characteristics as intoxicated humans. They exhibit hyperactivity and become promiscuous. They also slow down, especially if they drink too much. Moreover, alcohol causes both cognitive and motor disinhibitions. Alcohol causes aggressive and short tempers in humans, and these effects are also seen in fruit flies.
The researchers conducted experiments on flies and a generalist wasp to determine which species had higher alcohol tolerance. They found that only specialist wasps were able to cope with flies at the highest alcohol concentration. Generalist wasps had fewer adaptations to deal with flies.
However, fruit flies prefer alcohol because it protects them from parasitic wasps. These parasites inject eggs into the larva of the fruit fly. The larvae will consume the toxins in the alcohol to kill the parasite.
