Advertisement

Advertisement

vinegar fly

noun

  1. any fly of the family Drosophilidae, the larvae of which feed on decaying fruit and vegetation.


vinegar fly

noun

  1. any of various dipterous flies of the genus Drosophila See drosophila
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of vinegar fly1

First recorded in 1900–05
Discover More

Example Sentences

The migratory locust is not a model organism like the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster.

And in 2015 researchers at the University of California, San Diego, created a lab-based gene drive in the innocuous vinegar flies Drosophila that simply made all the flies’ eyes turn yellow.

Or rather, the fly: Drosophila melanogaster, commonly known as the fruit fly, although Dr. McAlister points out it actually belongs to a group called the vinegar flies.

The little flies that frequently appear near unrefrigerated produce in your kitchen are probably fruit flies, which are sometimes called vinegar flies.

From Time

The spotted wing drosophila is a vinegar fly from Asia that is sometimes inaccurately referred to as a fruit fly.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


vinegarettevinegarish