Dorsal and ventral views of the Mediterranean fruit fly that was chilled to -20 ° C prior to photography.
The Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) , a true fruit fly has distinctly marked or "pictured" wings. The larvae infest fruit and can live on over 260 host plants.
- An official USDA entomologist (and fellow whale watcher) told me that it was likely that most of my photographs of the medfly are sterile release and
that they are marked with a fluorescent orange spot which can be seen with a dissecting microscope and suitable illumination. I took my frozen specimen at home and put it under a dissecting scope with a small ultraviolet black light but my specimen broke apart before I got a good look at it.
Vinegar Fly (Drosophila melanogaster)
The Vinegar Fly above was one I captured on some rotting plums in the backyard in California. This specimen has marked or "pictured" wings. Although this characteristic was not listed in any of my Field Guides for the Vinegar fly. Contacting an expert from the local university resolved the matter for me.
It turns out that some wild Drosophila sp. have marked or pictured wings.
Source: Professor Peter J. Bryant.
The Vinegar Fly (Drosophila melanogaster) is often called "Fruit Fly" but it is not a member of the true fruit flies the Tephriditae, like the walnut husk fly and the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly). The red eye color of the wild Vinegar Fly is the characteristic that I find most easily distinguishes them from the Medfly.
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