Fruit flies

The common name for small flies of the family Drosophilidae — including Drosophila melanogaster, the familiar laboratory fruit fly. They breed rapidly in fermenting fruit, vegetable residues and food wastes, and in food premises their presence signals poor sanitation; they can transfer microorganisms to exposed foods, making them a target of pest-management programmes. Prompt waste removal and cleaning are the primary controls. The name is sometimes confused with the Tephritidae, a separate family of crop-pest flies whose larvae attack sound fruit on the plant.