This protocol is an excerpt from&#160;Barradale&#160;et al., Quantification of Drosophila Grooming Behavior,&#160;J. Vis. Exp.&#160;(2017).
<ol>
	<li>Prepare an aspirator for moving live Drosophila from a culture vial to the grooming chamber. Aspirators allow transfer of conscious animals to the behavioral chambers to ensure that anesthesia does not affect subsequent behavioral observation.
	<ol>
		<li>Using scissors cut 1.5 feet of tygon tubing ID 1/8&#34;, OD 1/4&#34;. Cut at least 1 inch off of the tip of a 1 mL disposable micropipette tip. Hold a 1 cm square piece of mesh (opening 0.196 inch) over the cut tip. 
		NOTE: Most 1mL tips have a gradation line where the tip sits in the package box, typically cut to that line.</li>
		<li>Snugly place a fresh 1 mL micropipette tip over the mesh/cut tip. Observe the mesh form a tight barrier between the two tips. The inside of the new tip creates a holding chamber for flies.</li>
		<li>Cut the extreme tip of the new micropipette tip to widen the opening enough to allow passage of a single fly. The hole will roughly match the opening of the grooming chamber (approximately 1.5-2 mm in diameter).</li>
		<li>Snugly fit the nested tips onto the end of the tygon tubing. Push the tips into the tube to ensure a tight fit to allow for vacuum pressure.</li>
		<li>On the other end of the tubing, cut the tip of a 200 &#956;L micropipette tip and fit the narrow cut end into the tubing. This is the &#34;mouth&#34; side of the aspirator.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>

<table><tbody><tr><td>High-Flex Tygon PVC Clear Tubing</td><td>McMaster-Carr</td><td>5229K54</td><td>ID 1/8&quot;, OD 1/4&quot;, used with micropipettor tips and mesh to construct mouth aspirators</td></tr><tr><td>Micropipette tips (1 mL and 200 &amp;mu;L)</td><td>Genesee Scientific</td><td>24-165, 24-150R</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Nylon Mesh Screen, 2 x 2.6&quot;</td><td>McMaster-Carr</td><td>9318T44</td><td>Used to construct grooming chamber and mouth aspirators</td></tr></tbody></table>

fly aspirator tube: a simple tool to transfer live drosophila

Fly Aspirator Tube: A Simple Tool to Transfer Live Drosophila

Source: Barradale, F., et al. <a href="https://www.jove.com/video/55231/" target="_blank">Quantification of Drosophila Grooming Behavior</a>. J. Vis. Exp. (2017).
This video describes one method to build a fly aspirator, which can be used to transfer insects between enclosures without anesthesia. The aspirator in the example protocol was prepared for an experiment to quantify individual grooming behaviors

Source: Barradale, F., et al. Quantification of Drosophila Grooming Behavior. J. Vis. Exp. (2017).
This video describes one method to build a fly ...

- A fly aspirator allows researchers to safely transfer live flies without physical damage or the use of anesthesia, which may affect experimental results. To assemble the aspirator, you will need plastic tubing, two 1-milliliter modified pipette tips, a nylon mesh, and a trimmed 200-microliter tip. Create a fly holding chamber at one end of the tubing with the larger pipette tips and the mesh. The mesh is kept in place by the overlap of the two tips. Insert the smaller pipette tip into the other end of the tubing to create a mouthpiece. To capture a fly, hold the open end of the fly chamber close to the fly. Provide suction with your mouth from the other end of the tube to pull the fly into the aspirator. The mesh prevents the fly from moving any further down the tube. To expel the captured fly, align the chamber opening with the target, then gently blow into the tube, providing enough force to push the fly out of the chamber. In this example, we will use a fly aspirator to load flies into a grooming chamber apparatus. - To begin the experiment, prepare an aspirator to move live Drosophila from a culture vial to the grooming chamber. Using scissors, cut 1.5 feet of tygon tubing. C

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Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly)

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4.3K Views. - A fly aspirator allows researchers to safely transfer live flies without physical damage or the use 

Fly Aspirator Tube: A Simple Tool to Transfer Live Drosophila

Abstract

Protocol

<table><tbody><tr><td>High-Flex Tygon PVC Clear Tubing</td><td>McMaster-Carr</td><td>5229K54</td><td>ID 1/8", OD 1/4", used with micropipettor tips and mesh to construct mouth aspirators</td></tr><tr><td>Micropipette tips (1 mL and 200 &mu;L)</td><td>Genesee Scientific</td><td>24-165, 24-150R</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Nylon Mesh Screen, 2 x 2.6"</td><td>McMaster-Carr</td><td>9318T44</td><td>Used to construct grooming chamber and mouth aspirators</td></tr></tbody></table>

Fly Aspirator Tube: A Simple Tool to Transfer Live Drosophila

In This Article

Abstract

Protocol

Materials

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Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
High-Flex Tygon PVC Clear Tubing	McMaster-Carr	5229K54	ID 1/8", OD 1/4", used with micropipettor tips and mesh to construct mouth aspirators
Micropipette tips (1 mL and 200 μL)	Genesee Scientific	24-165, 24-150R
Nylon Mesh Screen, 2 x 2.6"	McMaster-Carr	9318T44	Used to construct grooming chamber and mouth aspirators