Effect of temperature on oviposition in four species of the melanogaster group of Drosophila

Experiments were conducted to test the effect of temperature on oviposition in four species of the melanogaster group of Drosophila: D. ananassae, D. bipectinata, D. malerkotliana and D. biarmipes. In each species, two wild strains were used and eggs laid by females at three different temperatures (19 degrees C, 24 degrees C and 30 degrees C) were counted for four days at 24 h interval. It is evident from the results that females of D. ananassae, D. bipectinata, D. malerkotliana and D. biarmipes lay low number of eggs at low temperature (19 degrees C). Thus oviposition in these four species of Drosophila is significantly reduced at low temperature.