D. melanogaster Meigen 1830 
(previously called D. ampelophila Loew 1862)

Last update: 17 August, 2002

Picture of Drosophila melanogaster
(female with male abdomen) by
Hilary Burn

A cosmopolitan species recorded from all the European countries recently investigated. It is associated with man and occurs mostly near houses, often being especially numerous in gardens and orchards. In such places it is commonly found at bruised fruit such as apples, raspberries, and strawberries. Basden (1954a) found many in fruit stores and banana warehouses in Edinburgh in autumn. D. melanogaster can also be trapped in many natural habitats - mainly woodland - but here numbers are usually fairly low. It can be trapped outdoors from May to October, though the majority of flies occur in June and July. Indoors it can be trapped for most of the year.

Prof. B. Shorrocks