Page 14 - Fruit Flies News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

A specie of fruit flies could reproduce on their own through the use of gene mutations. Read more here to know more about "virgin births."

The discovery of nearly 30 invasive fruit flies has prompted a produce quarantine affecting over 79 square miles of Los Angeles County as state and local officials try to stop the fly from spreading and hurting California's fruit and vegetable industry.

Researchers were able to pinpoint the genes that control fruit fly parthenogenesis — the scientific term for virgin birth in animals.

The discovery of nearly 30 invasive fruit flies has prompted a produce quarantine affecting over 79 square miles (204.6 square kilometers) of Los Angeles County as state and local officials try to stop the fly from spreading and hurting California's fruit and vegetable industry. It's the first quarantine ever in the Western Hemisphere for the Tau fruit fly, which is native to Asia, agriculture officials said.

A single female fruit fly can lay around 500 eggs in a day, experts say.