Fruit flies have shorter lives if exposed to their own dead, scientists find

Although fruit flies live on decayed organic matter, seeing an abundance of fruit fly carcasses speeds up their ageing process by nearly 30%. Photograph: Benjamin Fabian/Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology/PA

The sight of their dead comrades is enough to drive fruit flies to an early grave, according to researchers, who suspect the creatures keel over after developing the fly equivalent of depression.

For a species that spends much of its life feasting on decayed matter, the insects appear to be particularly sensitive to their own dead. Witnessing an abundance of fruit fly carcasses speeds up the insects’ ageing process, scientists found, cutting their lives short by nearly 30%.