Learning about prospective mates in male fruit flies: effects of acceptance and rejection

Neurogenetic research in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) has established numerous protocols that illustrate flies' rich behavioural repertoire as well as excellent learning and memory abilities. To place that information in an evolutionary context, we followed up on earlier studies by evaluating the effect of experience with a variety of relevant female categories on males' courtship behaviour. We found, for the first time, that the …