prolix wrote:G the are a git to get rid of any beer spillages will spawn hundreds of the buggers. I lost a batch to them a couple of weeks ago
People who make wine, cider or beer should ensure that the containers are well sealed; otherwise, fruit flies will lay their eggs under the lid and the tiny larvae will enter the container upon hatching. Upon emerging, the tiny larvae feed near the surface of the fermenting mass. The reproductive potential of fruit flies is enormous; given the opportunity, they will lay about 500 eggs. The entire lifecycle from egg to adult can be completed in about a week.
Yes, they could quite easily be fruit flies of course. I tried to identify the little beggars that used to pester me (courtesy of my Collins guide to insects) and came to the conclusion that they were frit flies mostly due to their size and that they only bothered me at harvest time. Frit flies are very small, smaller than fruit flies. However there are dozens of different flies in the frit / fruit fly sort of thing; all have their own unique hosts, and it is difficult to identify something for certain that is only a couple of millimeters in length.
No matter what they are, you really don't want them, of course. If they are frit flies you won't get problems with egg-laying and reproduction, the lava needs barley or oats to munch on from what I can work out, but from what I have just read on the interweb fruit flies are a totally different issue. It seems that they can breed anywhere there is decaying matter; even in drains and dustbins. That's worrying; difficult to get rid of the buggers if they are breeding in someones drain, or on fallen fruit, three doors up the street.
I believe that these little critters are responsible for more infected beer than is commonly realised. If one gets into your beer, infection is inevitable. It makes me wonder how commercial brewers coped with the problem, apart from not brewing in the summer.
