Posted by Carnifex on 25-09-2017 23:32
#1
Hi,
I caught (among other species) some
D. hydei in my appartement.
At the university there are also kept similar flies for feeding purposes. They were bought somewhere and I wonder what species this might be. They belong for sure into the
repleta-group. They have brighter red eyes and usually have an 'X' shape on the scutellum. They can be kept on normal Drosophila standard medium, like D. melanogaster. Any suggestions?
Posted by Paul Beuk on 26-09-2017 07:57
#3
If it is a stock species, it could be any of the big
repleta group, even a specific strain of the very similar
hydei...
Posted by John Carr on 26-09-2017 11:57
#4
See:
Markow, Therese A. and Patrick M. O'Grady. 2006. Drosophila: A guide to species identification and use. Elsevier.
A key to species of the
repleta group likely to be found in a lab is on pages 134-137.
Posted by Carnifex on 27-09-2017 15:22
#5
Thank you Paul and John,
my first approach was the key provided in the Drosophila species guide, but I could not always decide on a character described, so I followed both branches (e.g., coxa darker than rest of leg? There is some dark patterning, but not throughout the coxa - thus I don't know if this qualifies...) In the end, I came up with a list of possible candidates. It must be somewhere in the
repleta-group and, if this might exclude some, they can be raised on standard Drosophila corn meal medium. I guess e.g.
D. mojavensis needs a special diet?
And, as Paul mentioned, what about a certain strain of
D. hydei with brighter eyes and different body size?
At a first glance, the male genitalia they looked similar to
D. hydei...