Drosophila melanogaster

Lifecycle of Drosophila

Egg

Larva

Pupae (brown specimens are older than the white ones)

Adult D. melanogaster
Mating systems[edit]
Courtship behavior[edit]
The following section is based on the following Drosophila species: Drosophila simulans and Drosophila melanogaster.
Courtship behavior of male Drosophila is an attractive behaviour.^[21] Females respond via their perception of the behavior portrayed by the male.^[22] Male and female Drosophila use a variety of sensory cues to initiate and assess courtship readiness of a potential mate.^[21][22][23] The cues include the following behaviours: positioning, pheromone secretion, following females, making tapping sounds with legs, singing, wing spreading, creating wing vibrations, genitalia licking, bending the stomach, attempt to copulate, and the copulatory act itself.^{[24][21][22][23]} The songs of Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans have been studied extensively. These luring songs are sinusoidal in nature and varies within and between species.^[23]
The courtship behavior of Drosophila melanogaster has also been assessed for sex-related genes, which have been implicated in courtship behavior in both the male and female.^[21] Recent experiments explore the role of fruitless (fru) and doublesex (dsx), a group of sex-behaviour linked genes.^[25][21]
The fruitless (fru) gene in Drosophila helps regulate the network for male courtship behavior; when a mutation to this gene occurs altered same sex sexual behavior in males is observed.^[26] Male Drosophila with the fru mutation direct their courtship towards other males as opposed to typical courtship, which would be directed towards females.^[27] Loss of the fru mutation leads back to the typical courtship behavior.^[27]