How Long Do Flies Mate?
WouterThe female flies stick their ovipositor (long thin tube) into the male fly’s genital opening at the bottom of his abdomen. When the male fly is not mating, the ovipositor stays hidden. During mating, the sperm of the male fly passes through the female’s reproductive tract and fertilizes the eggs. The process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours.
The reproductive process of flies is well documented and has given rise to a large body of research. Flies are extremely fast and small, so it can be challenging to capture them during mating. However, studies have provided us with numerous techniques and theories that have helped us understand the processes of reproduction in flies. One of the most interesting aspects of the flies’ life cycle is that they can produce hundreds, even thousands, of eggs in less than a week.
The length of a male’s lifespan depends on the amount of competition for the female. In males, mate competition reduces male lifespans by around one-third. This reduction is not consistent in all species, however. Some species age rapidly, lasting only days or weeks, while others age slowly over hundreds of years. The researchers used populations of the fly Drosophila simulans to study the process of aging.
Females mate for a few days. The duration of courtship is largely dependent on dopamine levels. If a female is not interested in mating, she may either fly away, or shake her male off.
