Drosophila melanogaster

Pheromones[edit]
A novel class of pheromones was found to be conserved across the subgenus Drosophila in 11 desert dwelling species.^[28] These pheromones are triacylglycerides that are secreted exclusively by males from their ejaculatory bulb and transferred to females during mating. The function of the pheromones is to make the females unattractive to subsequent suitors and thus inhibit courtship by other males.
Polyandry[edit]
The following section is based on the following Drosophila species: Drosophila serrata, Drosophila pseudoobscura, Drosophila melanogaster, and Drosophila neotestacea. Polyandry is a prominent mating system among Drosophila.^{[29][30][31][32]} Females mating with multiple sex partners has been a beneficial mating strategy for Drosophila.^{[29][30][31][32]} The benefits include both pre and post copulatory mating. Pre-copulatory strategies are the behaviours associated with mate choice and the genetic contributions, such as production of gametes, that are exhibited by both male and female Drosophila regarding mate choice.^[29][30] Post copulatory strategies include sperm competition, mating frequency, and sex-ratio meiotic drive.^{[29][30][31][32]}
These lists are not inclusive. Polyandry among the Drosophila pseudoobscura in North America vary in their number of mating partners.^[31] There is a connection between the number of time females choose to mate and chromosomal variants of the third chromosome.^[31] It is believed that the presence of the inverted polymorphism is why re-mating by females occurs.^[31] The stability of these polymorphisms may be related to the sex-ratio meiotic drive.^[32]
However, for Drosophila subobscura, the main mating system is monandry, not normally seen in Drosophila.^[33]