When threatened, the fly flashes its wings to give the appearance of ants walking back and forth.
When threatened, the fly flashes its wings to give the appearance of ants walking back and forth.

Fruit fly with the wings of beauty



AL AIN // Of all the resplendent beauties in the insect kingdom, few might look to the humble fruit fly for its delicacy or charm.
But a closer examination of the transparent wings of Goniurellia tridens reveals a piece of evolutionary art. Each wing carries a precisely detailed image of an ant-like insect, complete with six legs, two antennae, a head, thorax and tapered abdomen.
"The image on the wing is absolutely perfect," says Dr Brigitte Howarth, the fly specialist at Zayed University who first discovered G tridens in the UAE.
It is a member of tephritidae, a family - there are two - of 5,000 species of fruit flies whose colourful markings have earned them the name "peacock flies".
In the UAE alone, 27 picture wing species are known. Some have wings bearing simple shapes but others, like G tridens, are far more complex.
Dr Howarth first saw G tridens on an oleander shrub in northern Oman. "I was looking at the stem of the leaves and I noticed that there were some insects crawling around. When I sort of honed in I started to notice what I thought was a couple of ants moving around."
At first she suspected an infestation on the fly's wings. "But it was so symmetrical that I thought, 'oh this is not possible'. When I got it under the microscope I realised that these were insects painted onto the wings."
In contrast to its wings and brilliant green eyes, the fly's body is a dull greenish grey - "almost cryptically coloured," says Dr Howarth - that blends into the leaves where it is found.
When threatened, the fly flashes its wings to give the appearance of ants walking back and forth. The predator gets confused and the fly zips off.
This defence mechanism may also make the fly attractive to potential mates - something that is less of a concern for the average housefly.
"A lot of flies, if a male sees a female that is suitable it just flies up and tries to latch on," said Dr Howarth. But G tridens has an altogether more amorous courtship, showing off its wings in a colourful dance. And Dr Howarth believes it is no exception.
"If you look at the behaviour, it tells you a lot about the functionality," said Dr Howarth. "Not everybody gets to mate. The ones that do have something about them that make them more attractive.
"Is it the same in other invertebrates, who knows? It's very possible that those are in fact for courtship behaviour."
This elaborate behaviour may be a response to the fly's restrictive environment. "Something that can survive anywhere doesn't need to have as many protection factors," said Dr Howarth.
The more realistic the picture on the wing, the better its chance of survival and reproduction.
"It's all about optimising your possibilities of survival. There's always variety and some individuals, for whatever reason, have more of a success because of that variation."
G tridens's looks have served it well. Since it was identified in 1910, it has been found in the Near and Middle East, India, and central Asia.
Females lay eggs in plant tissue, like fruits and flowers, where the larvae feed. This does not usually harm the plant but many fruit flies are still considered pests.
Whether a pest or a flying piece of art, it is around us every day.
"I would say most people that have sat in their gardens with a cool orange juice or water in their hand in the early morning sun and looked down at the ground would have seen a picture-wing fly."
 
azacharias@thenational.ae

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Abu Dhabi GP Saturday schedule

12.30pm GP3 race (18 laps)

2pm Formula One final practice 

5pm Formula One qualifying

6.40pm Formula 2 race (31 laps)

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

In numbers

Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m

Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’  in Dubai is worth... $600m

China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn

The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn

Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn 

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What: DP World Tour Championship
When: November 21-24
Where: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae.