Studying the "fly factor" phenomenon and its underlying mechanisms in house flies Musca domestica

Abstract

The "fly factor" was first discovered >60 years ago and describes the phenomenon that food currently or previously fed on by flies attracts more foraging flies than the same type and amount of food kept inaccessible to flies. Since then, there has been little progress made to understanding this phenomenon. Our objectives were (i) to demonstrate the existence of the fly factor in house flies, Musca domestica and (ii) to study underlying mechanisms that may cause or contribute to the fly factor. In 2-choice laboratory bioassays, we obtained unambiguous evidence for a fly factor phenomenon in house flies, in that we demonstrated that feeding flies are more attractive to foraging flies than are nonfeeding flies, and that fed-on food is more attractive to foraging flies than is "clean" food. Of the potential mechanisms (fly excreta, metabolic output parameters [elevated temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide]), causing the fly factor, fly feces, and regurgitate do attract foraging flies but none of the metabolic output parameters of feeding flies does. Even though feeding flies produce significantly more CO₂ than nonfeeding flies, elevated levels of CO₂ have no behavior-modifying effect on flies. Preferential attraction of house flies to fly feces and regurgitate indicates that the flies sense airborne semiochemicals emanating from these sources. Hypothesizing that these semiochemicals are microbe-produced, future studies will aim at isolating and mass producing these microbes to accumulate semiochemicals for identification.

Keywords: Musca domestica; fly factor; foraging; metabolic output; microbes; semiochemical attractants.