The natural history of Drosophila ehrmanae

Drosophila ehrmanae [Parsons P. A., and Bock I. R. (1977). Aust. J. Zool. 25: 249-268] is a desiccation-sensitive species of undisturbed southern Australian temperate-zone rainforests. In this habitat category, nine Drosophila species have been collected, all belonging to the dominant Australian subgenus, Scaptodrosophila. Adults of these species are collected by sweeping foliage in damp habitats so providing temperature/desiccation information on adaptive behavioral selection within microhabitats. Biochemical and metabolic analyses of two common species of this subgenus indicate that D. ehrmanae should be alcohol dehydrogenase null with low ADH activity, should not utilize ethanol and its derivatives as a major resource, and therefore should not be attracted to these metabolites. Ultimately, such species may offer possibilities for behavioral/genetic analyses.