Posted by lukas1986 on 09-05-2014 18:15
#1
Hi
I am new here and I hope I am posting it into the right section. I do not know if this was discussed or not but I have one question because I cannot find a straight answer and so far I was looking through many papers and they are sometimes contradicting themselves. So here goes the question:
How does houseflies (Musca domestica) actually feed when the food is not liquid? There is quite a contradiction according to what I read:
From what I read so far some sources claim that houseflies do NOT regurgitate their crop when feeding but only salivate on food to break it down meaning they just spit on it.
Other sources claim that the housefly does vomit to break down the solid food.
Other sources claim that the fly does vomit but only when it has eaten or drunk something before to fill up the crop when the crop is not full it just uses saliva.
The last source claims that the fly uses saliva then eats the half-liquid stuff and then regurgitates it and eats it again..
So I am asking what is right here or if someone could please explain me how does the housefly eat and if it is able to vomit using the crop.
Thanks for reading this and your time. I wish you all a nice day and I hope that my question does not bother you..
Edited by lukas1986 on 09-05-2014 18:16
Posted by lukas1986 on 20-05-2014 11:22
#2
Finally found the answer. The housefly does regurgitate its crop when feeding:
Like all Diptera with sponging mouthparts, M. domestica adults liquefy solid food externally by regurgitating oral secretions onto the substrate prior to imbibing the dissolved food (Stoffolano, 1995). House fly oral secretions are a composite of salivary gland secretions and contents of the crop, a diverticulation of the foregut that plays an important role in the regulation of feeding and the utilization of ingested food (Haselton et al., 2006).
Link: http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/boucias/hytrosaviridae/Resources2/Publications7_files/lietze%20et%20al.%202009.pdf