The AT Biology fruit fly lab went awry last week, resulting in a massive infestation across Pinewood. The infestation started when a student allegedly removed the caps from the fruit fly containers, releasing hundreds of flies into the biology classroom. The flies began multiplying and spreading all over Upper Campus.
AT Biology teacher Kimberly Hudson believes the situation rapidly escalated because fruit flies reproduce extremely quickly.
“Fruit flies can lay 500 eggs throughout their lifetime, and these eggs can hatch in just 24 to 30 hours,” Hudson said. “They can multiply even faster in warmer weather, and there’s been a heat wave recently.”
The fruit flies have now completely taken over the office, gym, classrooms, and Student Achievement Center.
“It’s really hard to focus in class with all these flies buzzing around,” senior Alan Skelley said. “I was taking a math test the other day, and one flew into my ear. I’m pretty sure it got into my brain and told me all the wrong answers.”
To make things worse, the flies have gotten into the school lunches.
“It’s impossible to eat anything without the flies swarming around it,” senior Jerry Yan said. “Whenever I have lunch away from Pinewood, I find myself missing the taste. They are so juicy and delectable and full of protein.”
Yan has come down with a severe case of food poisoning and cannot figure out why. He has been absent from school for the past few days.
On Monday, there was a faculty meeting to discuss solutions for removing the fruit flies.
“We set up fly traps around the school using a paper funnel and a cup containing fruit,” Head of Upper Campus Eve Kulbieda said. “The fruit attracts the flies, causing them to fly in, but they won’t be able to get back out.”
There were also reports of students swinging their textbooks around to swat the flies. However, after many students were accidentally hit by the textbooks, the community realized that trapping the flies and safely relocating them to a nearby landfill was a better option.
“We don’t need to kill the fruit flies,” Hudson said. “They are actually very important to the ecosystem because of their role as decomposers.”
Everyone is encouraged to do their part to prevent the infestation from expanding.
“We can look out for any open food on campus and make sure the garbage cans are covered,” junior Will Hewlett said. “That’s where fruit flies lay their eggs.”
The fruit fly crisis will be solved eventually, but one major question remains: who is the culprit behind this infestation?
“I was supervising the fruit fly lab, and I did not see anyone take the caps off,” Hudson said. “It’s a real mystery!”
