Wild African Drosophila melanogaster are seasonal specialists on marula fruits
Although the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster isarguably the most studied organism on the planet,fundamental aspects of this species’ natural ecologyhave remained enigmatic [1]. We have here investigateda wild population of D. melanogaster from amopane forest in Zimbabwe. We find that these fliesare closely associated with marula fruit (Sclerocaryabirrea) and propose that this seasonally abunda