A research team from Okayama University, specializing in applied entomology, announced on February 10 that excessive caffeine consumption can be lethal to certain types of flies. Their study found that nearly all flies exposed to high doses of caffeine died within a week. The findings suggest that caffeine could potentially be developed as an eco-friendly pest control method.
Caffeine is known to enhance alertness in humans, but excessive consumption can lead to insomnia and dizziness. While previous studies have shown that high concentrations of caffeine can inhibit insect growth, its effectiveness as a pest control agent remained unclear.
The researchers studied Hemipyrellia ligurriens, a fly species widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions, including Japan. They provided the flies with sugar water containing caffeine at varying concentrations (0.01% to 2%) using cotton soaked in the solution.
The results showed that flies given only sugar water lived longer, but those exposed to caffeine concentrations of 0.5% or higher almost entirely died within seven days. While the connection to lifespan remains unclear, the flies exhibited a decrease in body fat and reduced movement, as measured through automated tracking.
Viewer Comments:
If humans can die from an overdose, it’s no surprise flies do too.
Maybe I should sprinkle some “Monster Energy” around when there are too many flies.
↑But that’ll probably just attract ants instead.
Source:https://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/tp/release/release_id1350.html
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