Have you ever wondered why flies are always buzzing around your beer while you’re sitting outside on your patio or at a picnic? Well, we finally know the answer! It is because flies can sense glycerol, which is a sweet tasting compound used in yeast fermentation.
Ms. Anupama Dahanukar, a researcher at U.C. Riverside says, “Insects use their taste system to glean important information about the quality and nutritive value of food sources.”
“Sugars signal high nutritive value to flies, but little is known about which chemical cues flies use for food sources that are low in sugar content – such as beer,” the journal Nature Neuroscience reported.
During the study, Dahanukar’s lab examined the feeding preferences of common fruit flies for beer and other products of yeast fermentation. They found there is a receptor (protein that serves as a gatekeeper) tied with neurons (brain and nerve cells) which is located in the fly’s mouth parts and is instrumental in signaling a good taste for beer.
The protein receptor detects glycerol and transmits the information to the fly’s neurons which influences the response of the fly. Flies use other receptors in their sensory organs to find food from a distance.
She said, “Taste becomes important only after the fly makes physical contact with food. A fly first locates food sources using its odor receptors, crucial for its long range attraction to food. Then, after landing on food, the fly uses its taste system to sample food for suitability in terms of nutrition and toxicity.”
Now that you know exactly why flies are always getting into your beer, I want for you to carefully explain exactly what you have learned in this article to everyone at your next patio party or picnic. They will all be thoroughly impressed, right?
