D. subobscura Collin 1936

Last update: 17 August, 2002

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

This species is known from all European countries recently investigated. The adult can be found in almost every type of habitat: woodland, open arable country, gardens, orchards, sea-coast, moorland, and even the interior of buildings. However, it reaches its highest frequency in the neighbourhood of trees. Gordon (1942) found adults feeding on yeasty sap exudates of elm trees in Aberdeen. Basden (1954a) states that both sexes were commonly found on the bleeding stumps of sycamore and willow. There are also records of D. subobscura emerging from oak galls. Toadstools removed to the laboratory and kept in an insectory will quite often prove to be breeding material, too, and flies can be taken in the wild in the vicinity of healthy fungi. During the day there appear to be two peaks of activity: one between 0900hr and 1100hr and another between 1600hr and 1800hr. According to Basden, numbers reach their peak in autumn and early winter. Dyson-Hudson (1954), working in southern England, obtained the highest catches between June and August. Basden records that adults were trapped in woods in the Edinburgh district in every month of the year.

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

Dyson-Hudson, V.R.D. 1954 The taxonomy and ecology of the British species of Drosophila. D.Phil. thesis (deposited in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and in the library of the Department of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, Oxford University).  Back

Gordon, C. 1942 Natural breeding sites of Drosophila obscura. Nature, London 149, 499.  Back