Bug FAQCommon fruit fly, Vinegar fly
Drosophila melanogaster · Order: Diptera · Family: Drosophilidae
Also called: Pomace fly
Source: Wikipedia
The common fruit fly is a tiny yellow-brown fly with brick-red eyes and black rings on its abdomen; females are about 2.5 mm long and males slightly smaller, and the clear wings span about 4 mm. It develops from egg to adult in about a week at warm temperatures, lives roughly 50 days total, and is attracted to rotting fruit and fermenting foods where it lays its eggs.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males usually have a darker, more rounded abdomen, while females have a pointed, striped abdomen.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Females are about 2.5 mm long; males are a little smaller. The wings are clear, membranous, and about 4 mm across.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are drawn to rotting fruit, fermenting drinks, kitchens, orchards, pubs, and other places with decaying food.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on microorganisms and the sugars of decaying fruit for about four days, molting twice. Females lay around 400 eggs, depositing a few at a time into rotting fruit or similar material.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The life cycle has four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. At 25 °C the whole cycle from egg to death takes about 50 days.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Development from egg to adult can be as fast as seven days at 28 °C, but slows at higher temperatures like 30 °C.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Originally an African species, it now occurs on every continent, including islands.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be confused with Tephritidae fruit flies such as the Mediterranean fruit fly, but can be distinguished by wing clarity, costal index, male sex comb setae, and specific abdominal markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 31 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, Alaska, Michigan, New York, Texas.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I identify a common fruit fly?
Look for a tiny yellow-brown fly about 2.5 mm long, with brick-red eyes, clear wings about 4 mm wide, and black rings on the abdomen; males have a darker, rounded abdomen, females a pointed, striped one.
Source: Wikipedia
Where do fruit flies usually appear?
They are attracted to rotting fruit, fermenting drinks, kitchens, orchards, pubs, and other places where food is decaying.
Source: Wikipedia
How fast do they develop?
At warm temperatures (around 28 °C) they can go from egg to adult in about seven days; at 25 °C the whole lifespan is roughly 50 days.
Source: Wikipedia
Can I mistake them for other fruit flies?
Yes, they resemble Tephritidae fruit flies, but can be told apart by clear wings, specific vein patterns, and distinctive male and female abdominal markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Drosophilidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosophila_melanogaster
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.