Similar fruit fly

Drosophila simulans · Order: Diptera · Family: Drosophilidae

Also called: Fly

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Similar fruit fly
Photo: carnifex, CC BY

This fly is part of the melanogaster species subgroup and is closely related to Drosophila melanogaster. Its closest relatives are Drosophila mauritiana and Drosophila sechellia, which it may resemble.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

It belongs to the melanogaster species subgroup and is closely related to Drosophila melanogaster.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 10 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Florida, Michigan, New York, Maryland, New Hampshire.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Similar fruit fly photo 2
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Similar fruit fly photo 3
Photo: Katja Schulz, CC BY
Similar fruit fly photo 4
Photo: Michele Jones, CC BY
Similar fruit fly photo 5
Photo: Michele Jones, CC BY

Same family (Drosophilidae)

Common fruit fly, Vinegar flyCommon fruit fly, Vinegar flyDrosophila melanogasterSpotted-winged DrosophilaSpotted-winged DrosophilaDrosophila suzukiiDamages trees, gardens or cropsAfrican Fig FlyAfrican Fig FlyZaprionus indianusLeucophenga variaLeucophenga variaPomace flyPomace flyDrosophila busckii

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosophila_simulans

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.