Immigrant fruit fly
The immigrant fruit fly is a small vinegar fly, a relative of the tiny flies you see near a fruit bowl. It is a real helper for scientists. They study it to learn how germs change over time together with the animals they live in.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Scientists use it to learn how viruses change over time together with the animals they live in.
It belongs to the vinegar fly family, the same family as the little fruit flies people see in kitchens.
It has several close cousins, and scientists compare them all to learn how new kinds of flies appear.
Most asked questions about Immigrant fruit fly
?Is the immigrant fruit fly dangerous?
No. It is a small fly that does not bite or sting.
?Why do scientists study the immigrant fruit fly?
They use it to learn how viruses change over time together with the animals they live in.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Drosophila immigrans
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Drosophilidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Drosophilidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Drosophila immigrans (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by John Tann from Sydney, Australia. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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