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Drosophila melanogaster

• Classification

By Conrad Miller

Species: Drosophila melanogaster

Geographic Range

Drosophila macquarti has been introduced to every continent of the world with one exception, Antarctica. On other continents its range is limited only by mountain ranges, deserts, and high lattitudes. (Demerec 1950) The natural range of D. melanogaster is throughout the Old World tropics. Humans have helped to spread Drosophila macquarti to every other location which it inhabits. (Demerec, 1950; Patterson and Stone, 1952)

Biogeographic Regions
nearctic (Introduced ); palearctic (Introduced ); oriental (Native ); ethiopian (Native ); neotropical (Introduced ); australian (Introduced ); oceanic islands (Introduced )
Other Geographic Terms
cosmopolitan

Habitat

Drosophila macquarti lives in a wide range of habitats. Native habitats include those in the tropical regions of the Old World, but the common fruit fly has been introduced to almost all temperate regions of the world. The only aspects that limit the habitats Drosopila melangaster can live in is temperature and availability of water. The scientific name Drosophila actually means "lover of dew", implying that this species requires moist environments.
The development of this species' offspring is extremely dependent on temperature, and the adults cannot withstand the colder temperatures of high elevations or high latitudes. Food supplies are also limited in these locations. Therefore, in colder climates Drosophila macquarti cannot survive.
In temperate regions where human activities have introduced Drosophila macquarti, these flies seek shelter in colder winter months. Many times Drosophila can be found in fruit cellars, or other available man made structures with a large supply of food. (Demerec, 1950)

Habitat Regions
temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes
savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest
Other Habitat Features
urban ; suburban ; agricultural

Physical Description

Drosophila mature through complete metamorphosis, as do all members of the order Diptera.
Similar to all insects Drosophila is covered in a chitinous exoskeleton; has three main body segments; and has three pairs of segmented legs.
Adult: The common fruit fly is normally a yellow brown (tan) color, and is only about 3 mm in length and 2 mm in width (Manning 1999, Patterson, et al 1943). The shape of the common fruit fly's body is what one would normally imagine for a species of the order Diptera. It has a rounded head with large, red, compound eyes; three smaller simple eyes, and short antennae. Its mouth has developed for sopping up liquids (Patterson and Stone 1952). The female is slightly larger than the male (Patterson, et al 1943). There are black stripes on the dorsal surface of its abdomen, which can be used to determine the sex of an individual. Males have a greater amount of black pigmentation concentrated at the posterior end of the abdomen (Patterson and Stone 1952).
Like other flies, Drosophila macquarti has a single pair of wings that form from the middle segment of its thorax. Out of the last segment of its throax (which in other insects contains a second pair of wings) develops a set rudimentry wings that act as knobby balancing organs. These balancing organs are called halteres. (Raven and Johnson 1999)
Larvae are minute white maggots lacking legs and a defined head. (Patterson and Stone, 1952; Patterson, et al., April 1, 1943; Raven and Johnson, 1999)

Other Physical Features
ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism
female larger; sexes colored or patterned differently

Reproduction

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
1 weeks

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female
7 days
[External Source: AnAge]

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
1 weeks

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male
7 days
[External Source: AnAge]

Reproduction in Drosophila is rapid. A single pair of flies can produce hundreds of offspring within a couple of weeks, and the offspring become sexually mature within one week (Lutz 1948).
As in all insect species Drosophila macquarti lays eggs. The eggs are placed on fruit, and hatch into fly larvae (maggots), which instantly start consuming the fruit on which they were laid (Patterson and Stone 1952).
Male flies have sex combs on their front legs. It has been theorized that these sex combs might be used for mating. However, when these combs are removed it seems to have little effect on mating sucess (Patterson, et al 1943). (Lutz, 1948; Patterson and Stone, 1952; Patterson, et al., April 1, 1943)

Key Reproductive Features
semelparous ; year-round breeding ; sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous

Lifespan/Longevity

Average lifespan
Status: captivity
0.3 years
[External Source: AnAge]

Behavior

The behavior of Drosophila melanogater is simplistic. They are easily drawn towards the smell of any food source, and will mate almost indiscriminately with any individual of the opposite sex.
They have hairs on their backs that are sensitive to air currents; their eyes are sensitive to slight differences in light intensity; and they will instinctively fly away when they sense a shadow or movement (Demerec 1950).
Drosophila macquarti also have a propensity to fly towards light. If you culture the flies in a tube it is easily noticable that the flies will migrate towards the side of the tube that is nearest to the brightest source of light (Lutz 1948). (Demerec, 1950; Lutz, 1948)

Key Behaviors
flies; diurnal ; crepuscular ; motile

Food Habits

As the name implies, the fruit flies lives primarily on plant material. The adults thrive on rotting plants, and fruits; while eggs are usually laid on unripened/slightly ripened fruit, so by the time the larva develop the fruit will have just started to rot, and they can use the fruit that the egg was laid on as their primary source of nutrition. Drosophila are considered major pests in some area of the world for this reason. (Demerec, 1950; Lutz, 1948; Wilson, October,1999)

Primary Diet
herbivore (Frugivore )
Plant Foods
fruit

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

This species is widely used in scientific research. (Patterson, et al., April 1, 1943; Raven and Johnson, 1999)

Positive Impacts
source of medicine or drug

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Drosophila macquarti has been known to over winter in storage facilites, where it can consume/ruin vast quatities of food. As stated above, the fruit fly also lays its eggs on unripened fruit, and is considered a pest in many areas. (Demeric 1950, Wilson 1999)

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [Link]
Not Evaluated.

US Federal List [Link]
No special status

CITES [Link]
No special status

Other Comments

Drosophila macquarti has been studied in genetic research laboratories for almost a century. Because the fruit fly has a short lifespan, a simple genome, and is easily made to reproduce in captivity it is a prime canidate for genetic research. (Patterson, et al., 1943)
In 1910 Thomas H. Morgan used Drosophila to provide the first proof that the chromosomal theory of inheritance is correct. The chromosomal theory of inheritance states that the chromosomes are the carriers of genetic information. Morgan was the first to use Drosophila in genetic reasearch.

In 1913 H. Sturtevant, a student of Morgan created the first genetic maps using Drosophila macquarti. Since that time the simple genome of Drosophila macquarti has become very well known, allowing for much of the progression of genetic research.

Drosophila is also widely used by students of biology. (Raven and Johnson 1999) (Patterson, et al., April 1, 1943; Raven and Johnson, 1999)

For More Information

Find Drosophila melanogaster information at

• Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Sara Diamond (editor), Animal Diversity Web Staff.
Conrad Miller (author), Southwestern University, Stephanie Fabritius (editor), Southwestern University.

References

Demerec, .. 1950. Biology of Drosophila. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc..

Lutz, F. 1948. Field Book of Insects. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons.

Manning, .. Nov 20, 1999. "The Drosophila Virtual Library" (On-line). Accessed February 16, 2000 at http://ceolas.org/fly/.

Patterson, J., W. Stone. 1952. Evolution in the Genus Drosophila. New York: Macmillan Co..

Patterson, J., R. Wagner, L. Wharton. April 1, 1943. The Drosophilidae of the Southwest. Austin, TX: The University of Texas Press.

Raven, .., .. Johnson. 1999. Biology, Fifth Ed.. Boston: WCB/McGraw-Hill.

Wilson, .. October,1999. "Fruit Fly(Drosophila)" (On-line). Accessed February 16, 2000 at http://agri.gov.ns.ca/pt/hort/organic/ptor9705.htm.

To cite this page: Miller, C. 2000. "Drosophila melanogaster" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed June 07, 2012 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Drosophila_melanogaster.html

Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.

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