yellow expression in sex combs on male mating behavior
This section tests the hypothesis that yellow affects mating through sex comb pigmentation, not neural function.I think this is the main hypothesis they’re testing yellow’s effect on mating success depends on sex comb pigmentation. Interesting that it’s about morphology, not behavior via the brain.Does reduced melanization really make the combs less effective at grasping females? Or is it just a visual signal?
Encountering food of different types and ages in nature also differs from the benign consistency of the laboratory environment. In the laboratory, flies tend to be reared at a constant temperature and humidity level, while these abiotic variables fluctuate in nature. Laboratory adults also don't need to disperse to find a resource for the next generation.
This passage highlights a key contrast between controlled lab conditions and the unpredictable challenges of natural environments. In nature, flies must adapt to varied food sources and shifting abiotic conditions, which could influence their behavior, physiology, and reproductive strategies. The lack of such variability in the lab might lead to results that don’t fully reflect how flies behave or evolve in the wild, especially when it comes to things like resource-seeking or stress response.