Drosophilidae

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Drosophilidae(fruit flies; order Diptera, suborder Cyclorrapha) Large family of flies which are of great economic importance as pests of fruit and other plant tissue. The adults are usually small, with light-red eyes. Eggs are laid on or near the fermenting fruit, and the larvae feed in a semiliquid soup of ripe fruit. Species of the genus Drosophila, of which more than 2000 are recognized, include some of the animals about whose genetics most is known. Hawaii is a site of active Drosophila speciation.