Do Flies Actually Like Beer? Here's The 'Buzz'

Humans are not the only ones who enjoy beer. Recent findings published in the journal Cell Reports reveal that flies could actually be attracted to this beverage as well.

"The importance of yeast in beer brewing has long been underestimated. But recent research shows that the choice of a particular yeast strain or variety explains differences in taste between different beers and wines. In fact, yeasts may even be responsible for much of the 'terroir,' the connection between a particular growing area and wine flavor, which previously often was attributed to differences in the soil," said lead study author Kevin Verstrepen of the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), in a news release.

The study authors noted that beer yeasts are produced via chemicals that help mimic the smells of fruits. As insects land on yeast cells in the wild, tiny organisms can get stuck on the body of a fly and are eventually transported to a place where they can find new food sources and multiply.

"We all know that flowers attract insects by producing aromas. But there's also a lot of microbes living inside flowers, and the chemicals they produce may also play an important role," Joaquin Christiaens from VIB concluded.