Vinegar Flies (Drosophilidae) - 51 Species, Identification & Facts

Amiota humeralis

Identification: Shiny black with contrasting white facial stripe, postpronotum, and halteres.

Amiota minor

Identification: A brown Amiota with very faint white markings.

Chymomyza amoena

Identification: Legs yellow, wings with three dark spots (at end of R1, over m-cu, and after R2+3) and white tip.

Drosophila affinis

Identification: Difficult to ID without microscopic examination. Male fore tarsal comb with one comb having 4-6 teeth; 1st fore tarsomere subequal or shorter than second; females cannot be separated from other species in this group

Drosophila athabasca

Identification: Males need to be dissected to separate from the similar D. narragansett. Females of this species group are indistinguishable.

Drosophila (Drosophila) cardini

Drosophila cardini

Identification: The shining abdomen has a distinctive banding pattern.

Drosophila immigrans

Size about 5 mm. This is an orange-brown and red-eyed fly with black broken bands along the base of each abdominal tergite. The front femur has a row of small black spines on the anterior side - a feature which is unique to this species. Unless ident

Drosophila (Phloridosa) lutzii

Drosophila lutzii

The only member of subgenus Phloridosa north of Mexico. Often found in flowers, unlike most Drosophila .

Spotted-winged Drosophila

Drosophila suzukii

Drosophila suzukii adults are small (3 to 4 mm) yellowish-brown fruit flies with red eyes. The adults have a yellowish-brown thorax with black bands on the abdomen. However winter individuals, particularly females, may be much darker. The arista is r

Drosophila (Drosophila) tripunctata

Drosophila tripunctata

Identification: First two tergites with dark posterior band, remaining tergites with central dark spot.

Leucophenga maculosa

Identification: Differs from the common varia in having a less distinct pattern on the abdomen and more extensive wing markings (crossveins darkened and dark band starting at tip of R1).

Leucophenga varia

One of the two common, widespread species of this genus in our area, the other being Leucophenga maculosa .

Mycodrosophila dimidiata

Identification: The other two species north of Mexico have the dark band on tergite 4 undivided.

Rhinoleucophenga obesa

Identification: Distinguished from most other Drosophilidae by its very large, hairy frons.

Scaptomyza adusta

"This is a very common and widely distributed species over the eastern half of the continent, extending west into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The larvae are undoubtedly leaf miners for the most part but apparently other situations will serv

Scaptomyza flava

The adult is a browish fly with a body length of about 2.5 mm. Scaptomyza flava larvae cause white 'corridor-blotch' mines when feeding between the upper and lower epidermes of the leaves of cruciferous plants of the Brassicaceae family. Around the l