Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Species Zaprionus indianus - African Fig Fly

Very pretty Drosophilids - Zaprionus indianus - female Vinegar Fly - Zaprionus indianus small fly on persimmon fruit - Zaprionus indianus Small fly - Zaprionus indianus African Fig Fly - Zaprionus indianus Zaprionus on jackfruit - Zaprionus indianus Zaprionus indianus maybe Lauxaniid - Zaprionus indianus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Acalyptratae")
Superfamily Ephydroidea
Family Drosophilidae (Vinegar Flies)
Subfamily Drosophilinae
Genus Zaprionus
Species indianus (African Fig Fly)
Explanation of Names
Zaprionus indianus Gupta 1970
Identification

Zaprionus indianus has a row of spines under the distal half of the fore femur (as do many other African species). A fly without these spines should be compared to Z. tuberculatus.
Range
e. US, Ont., s. CA (van der Linde 2006)(Renkema 2013)(BG data)
Native to Africa, introduced to Florida and S. America (Brazil, Venezuela) (van der Linde 2006)
Life Cycle
This fly is a generalist that breeds on fallen fruit and fruit on the tree. In Africa, it is known to infest fruits of 74 species in 31 plant families (Lachaise & Tsacas 1983)
Remarks
First collected in Florida in 2005. (van der Linde et al. 2006)
This species lacks a sharp ovipositor and tends to attack damaged and overripe fruit. (David Biddinger, Penn State)
Print References
Lachaise, D., AND L. Tsacas. 1983. Breeding sites in tropical African drosophilids, pp. 221-332 In M. Ashburner, H. L. Carson, and J. N. Thompson [eds.], The Genetics and Biology of Drosophila. Academic Press, London.
Renkema J.M., Miller M., Fraser H., Légaré J.P. & Hallett R.H. (2013). First records of Zaprionus indianus Gupta (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from commercial fruit fields in Ontario and Quebec, Canada, Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 144 125-130.
van der Linde K., Steck G.J., Hibbard K., J.S. Birdsley, L.M. Alonso, D. Houle (2006) First records of Zaprionus indianus (Diptera: Drosophilidae), a pest species on commercial fruits from Panama and the United States of America. Florida Entomologist 89: 402-404 (Full text)