DURATION AND FREQUENCY OF WING BEAT IN THE AGING HOUSE FLY, MUSCA DOMESTICA L

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Abstract
This study was undertaken to determine the age-related quantitative changes in flight ability in male and female house flies, Musca domestica L. NAIDM house flies of known age were mounted, following anesthetization with CO2, onto thin, inverted "J"-shaped copper wire supports, and the wings beat frequency measured by means of a Cenco Xenon Stroboscope. The average wing beat frequency continues to increase from emergence to a maximum by the 5th day in females and by the 4th day in male house flies. The duration of flight, on the other hand, shows a steady day-today decline with age, such that in females, this falls from 500 minutes for one-day-old flies to 110 for 22-day-old flies. For males, this drop is much more striking with the duration of flight falling from 420 minutes in one-day-old flies to 63 minutes in nine-day-old male house flies. These findings confirm quantitatively previously reported data for wing loss and concomitant age-related changes in enzymes and coenzymes in the fibrillar and motochondrial fractions of the flight muscle of aging house flies.