Ask Science

8766 readers

64 users here now

Ask a science question, get a science answer.

Community Rules

Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.

Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.

Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.

Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.

Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.

Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.

Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.

Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.

Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.

Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.

Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.

Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.

Rule 7: Report violations.

Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.

Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.

Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.

Rule 9: Source required for answers.

Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.

By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.

We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

Do flies hate/dislike Yellow Watermelon? (self.askscience)

submitted 3 months ago by Cock_Inspecting_Asexual to c/askscience

6 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I've noticed something interesting that I cant get an answer to online. Whenever I leave out watermelon in my house (After eating it of course. I cut slices from the melon so what gets left behind is the rind), it attracts lots of gnats and flies without failure. After cutting and eating a Yellow Watermelon for the first time and then leaving it out, There wasn't a single fly that cared for it, it was never swarmed or landed on or fed upon. it just sat there for a day or so before I finally threw it out.

Why is this?? Repeating this same scenario always gives me the same output. The flies aren't attracted to the Yellow Melon, Why?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 months ago (2 children)

https://news.ufl.edu/archive/2012/02/color-is-key-in-controlling-flies-uf-researchers-find.html

A key to making the device effective was the discovery that flies are three times more attracted to the color blue than to yellow and that yellow actually seemed to repel flies.

Well TIL, maybe it's the color?

My original guess was that red watermelons are more common and so flies have evolved to crave it. You could also try with other fruits and report back 😄

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I have wonder if this is applicable to mosquitos as well. If so, time to buy some yellow clothing.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Does anyone sell yellow floodlights?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

High pressure sodium bulbs put out orange yellow light that has a low CRI, so anything they illuminate looks orangey yellow

[–] evasive_chimpanzee 3 points 3 months ago

I've read that red variants of veggies like cabbage get less attacked by caterpillars, and anecdotally, it seems to be true. It makes sense that insects would be evolved to target the more "natural" color.