https://phys.org/news/2018-05-fruit-flies-lion-feces.html > On Friday 1 June, Suzan Mansourian will publicly defend her thesis Drosophila sensory neuroethology, in which she examined fruit fly behaviour and the nerves and neural pathways that govern this seemingly simple organism. Together with colleagues, Suzan Mansourian investigated and mapped the receptors on the fruit fly's antennae, which it uses to locate food, humidity, reproductive partners, and a good place to lay its eggs. Some receptors detect fragrance molecules from the fermentation process in rotting fruit—a fragrance that signifies food for the fruit fly. > Other receptors react to the smell of phenol, which is released by the pathogenic bacteria in the excrement of predators. When the fruit fly identifies the smell of phenol, it avoids laying its eggs in the location, as it is a dangerous place for the larvae. Mansourian made the discovery in connection with fieldwork in Africa. Her results show that fruit flies shun the excrement of lions, but have no objections to laying their eggs in giraffe faeces.