''Drosophila hemipeza'' 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 Hawaiian fly in the family

Drosophilidae The Drosophilidae are a diverse, cosmopolitan family of flies, which includes species called fruit flies, although they are more accurately referred to as vinegar or pomace flies. Another distantly related family of flies, Tephritidae, are true f ...

. This species is a member of the ''planitiba'' subgroup of the picture-wing clade of

Hawaiian Drosophila 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-Haw ...

Description

''Drosophila hemipeza'' flies are yellow with two brown dorsal stripes, slender legs, and relatively long, slightly pointed, wings. These flies are only found in native

mesic forest In ecology, a mesic habitat is a type of habitat with a moderate or well-balanced supply of moisture, e.g., a mesic forest, a temperate hardwood forest, or dry-mesic prairie. Mesic habitats transition to xeric shrublands in a non-linear fashion, ...

on the island of

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

. They have been recorded breeding on bark from opuhe (''Urera kaalae''), as well as on plants in the genera '' Cyanea'' and ''

Lobelia ''Lobelia'' () is a genus of flowering plants comprising 415 species, with a subcosmopolitan distribution primarily in tropical to warm temperate regions of the world, a few species extending into cooler temperate regions.Huxley, A., ed. (1992 ...

.'' This species was described by D. Elmo Hardy in 1965 as ''Idiomyia hemipeza''. Its name was changed when ''Idiomyia'' was merged into the genus ''

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species ...

'' by Hampton L. Carson and others in 1967.

Conservation

''Drosophila hemipeza'' was listed as federally endangered in 2006 along with ten other species of picture-wing ''Drosophila''. Threats to the conservation of ''D. hemipeza'' include loss-of-habitat, in part due to invasive pigs and goats, as well as introduced predators such as big-headed ants, yellow crazy ants, and yellowjacket wasps. In addition, the host plants of ''D. hemipeza'' are increasingly rare ( opuhe is also listed as critically endangered).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14587994 hemipeza