Description of the insect

Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans are difficult to differentiate morphologically, which is common to all Drosophilidae. Their common characteristics are:

• the eggs have a smooth shell, sometimes carrying 2 to 8 subapical filaments;

• the larva has a worm-like appearance, maggot-like, with a whitish non-differentiable head (acephaly), and a size of 3 to 5 mm, legless and very active;

• the pupa which  has the shape of a barrel, is more or less pale brown, sometimes yellowish, and presents expansions on each side of the last segment;

• the adult (Figures 1-5) is a fly with unblemished hyaline wings, red compound eyes, and a yellowish to brownish coloration.