D. littoralis Meigen 1830

Last update: 17 August, 2002

Picture of female Drosophila littoralis by
Hilary Burn

A widely distributed species but never very abundant. It is often associated with fresh water. This was originally noted by Burla in 1951. Open land near small ponds, forests on the shores of lakes, and marshy or boggy woodland were all found to be suitable habitats. Rasmuson and Johansson (1969) note that in a trap situated at a riverbank D. littoralis was the dominant species, often giving up to a hundred individuals in a catch. They have also been reared off sap taken from the stump of a sycamore tree (Basden 1954a). The sap was collected at the end of August 1952 and larvae present in it produced 4 adults in the following September.

Prof. B. Shorrocks

Bibliography
Basden, E.B. 1954a The distribution and biology of Drosophilidae (Diptera) in Scotland, including a new species of Drosophila. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 62, 602-654.  Back

Burla, H. 1951 Systematik, Verbreitung und Oekologie der Drosophila Arten der Schweiz. Revue suisse de Zoologie 58, 23-175.  Back

Rasmuson, B and Johansson, H. 1969 Drosophila species in the northern part of Sweden. Drosophila Information Service 44, 188.  Back