Fruit Fly Trap

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Build a fruit fly trap out of a 2-liter plastic bottle and some rotten fruit! Fruit flies are easy to catch in warm weather. Once you catch some, you will be able to see their life cycle up-close. Watch carefully: they're tiny, it happens fast. The females in your trap will lay eggs, and in a few days they'll hatch. Watch for the different stages - eggs, larvae, pupae, fruit fly. The entire life cycle only takes about 2 weeks. Check out the Bottle Biology link for more activities to make with your 2-liter bottle.

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
1 to 4 weeks
Estimated Materials Cost:
1 cent - $1 per student
Age Range:
Ages 4 - 11
Resource Types:
Activity, Demonstration, Experiment/Lab Activity, Model
Language:
English

Materials List (per student)

  • 2-liter plastic bottle
  • butter tub
  • film canister
  • masking tape
  • fruit
  • 2-liter plastic bottle
  • butter tub
  • film canister
  • masking tape

Keywords

Subjects

  • Earth and Space Science
    • Earth Structure
      • Biosphere
  • Life Sciences
    • Diversity of Life
      • Plants
      • Animals
    • Ecology
      • Ecosystems

Informal Categories

  • Animals
  • Outdoor Activity
  • Food and Cooking
  • Nature and Environment

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Components that are part of this resource:

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, Science Museum of Minnesota, 1995

Funding Sources:

  • Unisys
  • Science Learning Network
  • National Science Foundation