I hesitated about posting this for one main reason: fruit flies are GROSS.
I do not like cold fruit, so I leave my fruit hanging in a tiered metal basket in my kitchen. In the summer, especially with an abundance of seasonal fruit, a little over-ripeness can occur before I get around to eating it all.
If I'm lucky, I can time it right and get the peaches into the fridge before the fruit flies show up. But, if not, I have to resort to tried and true methods of getting rid of them.
Summer Skirmish
Once again I miss the just-
right phase of my peaches
and suddenly there They are.
A vinegar trap may seem
too simple to be effective
against multitudes of fruit flies
but one must remember
Drosophila melanogaster
is not known for its smarts.
I take an empty baby food jar,
add a spoonful of cider vinegar,
cover the top with plastic wrap,
punch a few holes, and voila!
Once in, they can't find their
way out--glug, glug, glug.
After a day or two, fruit fly
corpses with their demonic red
eyes dulled, go down the drain.
Alas, I remain unconvinced
that Drosophila do not
spontaneously generate,
So, smartly, I put the old
baby food jar under the sink
to await the next skirmish.
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.
I know I said fruit flies are gross, but, they are useful to scientists. If you don't believe me, take a look at FlyBase: A Database of Drosophila Genes & Genomes.
If you'd like more general information about the creatures, click here.
(I've found myself watching them crawl around the trap. I saw one fly on top of another, which led me to wonder about fruit fly copulation, which led me to this. I know, I know...you didn't really need to know all that.)
Mary Lee at A Year of Reading will be hosting the Poetry Friday Round-Up this week. Mary Lee is our P.F. Round-Up organizer, and she does a fine job of keeping us all on track!
I often wonder if they're spontaneously appearing too. Are they just in fruit, & appear at one certain time? Thanks for a solution-didn't know. Love that your poem began with a "darn it" and then a "gotcha", Diane.
ReplyDeleteDarn it to gotcha--I like that!
DeleteI think you need to put this poem on the fridge!!
ReplyDeleteEeew! Refrigerator poetry definitely should be about more tasteful topics!
DeleteFruit flies...they do appear out of nowhere it seems. When one appears, I know two things: there are more I'm not seeing yet, and it's time to look down to the bottom of the fruit bowl.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, I think they're interesting. Not enough to study at length, though.
ReplyDeleteI like the skirmish metaphor. And I'm not sure if I would put this one on the frig, either...
ReplyDeletePeach picture, yes. Fruit fly poem, no.
DeleteCan't really call this poem "peachy," but it's interesting! Good luck keeping the flying things away from your snacks...
ReplyDeleteLet's call it "engulfing."
DeleteI did not know you could catch fruit flies with cider vinegar. Thank you, Diane, your peaches and your fruit flies!
ReplyDeleteI suppose if you believe the adage "you can more flies with honey," you could substitute mead. It's the fermentation smell they like. I wonder what would work the best? Science fair project!
DeleteYour poem is educational, Diane -- I didn't know you could catch them with cider vinegar either. I'll have to try it.
ReplyDeleteI hope so, Tabatha, nobody wants to read about fruit flies for the the heck of it! ;-)
DeleteI agree that room-temp fruit is preferable! Love that word "skirmish." Thank you, Diane!
ReplyDeleteThere are any number of normally-served-cold foods that I prefer room-temperature! I had a Chinese co-worker who told me that cold foods are harder to digest. I don't know if it's true, but I've never had digestion problems...
DeleteThe reason I mentioned she was Chinese is because she was always giving me Chinese medicine hints, and when I had cancer, she brought me a special tonic. It tasted worse that un-grape-flavored cough medicine!
DeleteI'm with you! Just made a vinegar trap the other day. Your poem shows no skirmish is too mundane for poetry!
ReplyDeleteIt has all the elements of an epic poem!
DeleteToo funny - from fruit to fruit fly to a fun fracas. Thanks for sharing. = )
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! It's not exactly polite conversation in normal situations, but for P.F. it's just right!
DeleteEgads! Who's writing the horror inspired poetry now? ;) I just got some beautiful peaches yesterday. Thanks for the reminder to be vigilant.
ReplyDeleteAnd now you know how to trap the little demons if they do show up!
Delete