''Drosophila digressa'' is an

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

species of fly from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, in the species-rich lineage of

Hawaiian Drosophilidae The Hawaiian Drosophilidae are a lineage of flies within the genus ''Drosophila.'' This monophyletic clade includes all of the endemic Hawaiian ''Drosophila'' and all members of the genus '' Scaptomyza'', which contains both Hawaiian and non-Hawa ...

. It is only found on the

Big island of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the U.S. state, state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of High island, volcanic ...

. It was historically known from sites throughout the islands, but is now restricted to the Manuka and Ola'a reserves.

Description

''Drosophila digressa'' was described by D. Elmo Hardy and Kenneth Y. Kaneshiro in 1968. This fly is yellow with two brown spots and three stripes on the thorax (the center stripe is fainter than each side). The wings have brown markings on crossveins and at the apex that are characteristic for the species. ''D. digressa'' was originally difficult to place within the picture-wing clade, but phylogenetic studies indicate that it is part of ''lanaiensis'' subgroup, along with '' D. hexachaetae'', '' D. moli'', and '' D. lanaiensis''. This clade follows the island progression rule, with speciation events following the age of formation of each island. This species has been recorded breeding in rotting stems of '' Charpentiera'' and '' Pisonia'' species.

Conservation

''Drosophila digressa'' was listed as a federally endangered species in 2013. Threats to the conservation of ''D. digressa'' include loss of breeding habitat, and predation from introduced insects such as yellowjacket wasps.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14588135 digressa Insects described in 1965 Endangered insects ESA endangered species Insects of Hawaii