Student Lesson One 
Culturing techniques, external anatomy,
and the life cycle of Drosophila melanogaster

Materials:

1.  Stereomicroscope
2.  Anesthetizing system
3.  Paint brush
4.  Funnel, culture tubes, media
5.  Wild-type flies.

 

You will be looking at wild-type fruit flies for this lesson.  At the completion of this lesson you should be able to

1.  Identify the different life stages of fruit flies
2.  Know the external anatomy
3.  Differentiate between males and females
4.  Construct additional fly cultures
5. Use your journal as a portfolio of your work

Drosophila melanogaster-the common fruit fly

You have seen these flies at one time or another but, due to their size, might have mistaken them for gnats or other small insects.  Fruit flies, true to their name, congregate around ripened or rotting fruit and can be found near trashcans and compost piles. They are everywhere in the contiguous U.S. and can easily be captured for study. 

You have been asked to keep a fly journal.  This is an important part of your work with these flies.  Since it will take at least a month to finish the first two lessons, you will need information to refer to on what you did before. A good scientist keeps accurate records to use for reference and publication.  You can never have too much information in your journal, but too little will cause problems in the future. Save the first two pages for a table of contents.  When you think of questions to ask, write these at the back of the journal.

Getting to know your flies