Welcome to the World of

Fruit Fly Genetics

This is a *female* fruit fly

Notice the tiger-striped abdomen and thesimple tag-like tip on the abdomen.

The tip at the end of the female abdomen is the excretory opening.Just proximal to this opening is the female genital opening.

Female Genitalia

This is a mature male fruit fly

Mature males have a prominent black abdominal end.Males also have tiny “sex combs” on their front pair of legs.

Here’s a close up of the male genital region. Notice the metallic sheen of the genitals.

One male and one female

Find their distinguishing features.

Ventral view of a male and female

Find their distinguishing features

Female laying an egg

Notice the relatively larger size and

lighter pigmentation of the

virgin female as compared with the

mature female

This is a third instar larva prior to pupation Mouth

Anus

Tiny fly eggs hatch into tiny worm-like larvae. The larvae eat

and grow in length and girth. The maximum size

of the larval stage is called

the third instar. This larval stage becomes a pupa.

Larva to Pupa Stages

Larvae are mobile

With the onset of pupation the worm-like larva contracts and a parchment-like pupa case hardens around the metamorphosing fly.

Pupalstages

Fly metamorphosis in pupa

When the fly emerges from the pupal case the wings are still wet and folded.

When flies are newly hatchedtheir wings are still damp

and folded.

Is this a male or a female?

This is a male. Pigmentation has not developed.