Hawaiian Picture-wing Fly (Silvestris) vs Italian Acerentomid

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Hawaiian Picture-wing Fly (Silvestris) Italian Acerentomid
Scientific Name Drosophila silvestris Acerentomon italicum
Order Diptera Protura
Family Drosophilidae Acerentomidae
Size 4-6 mm 0.7-1.2 mm
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Wood Feeders Omnivores
Regions Oceania (Hawaii - Big Island) Europe
Conservation Endangered Not Evaluated

Hawaiian Picture-wing Fly (Silvestris)

A Hawaiian picture-wing fly closely related to D. heteroneura but with a normally shaped head. It is found in wet forests on Hawaii Island. This species and D. heteroneura are a classic study system for understanding speciation in progress.

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Did You Know?

D. silvestris and D. heteroneura can hybridize in the lab, providing key insights into how new species form through sexual selection.

Italian Acerentomid

A small proturan originally described from Italian soils. It is typical of Mediterranean forest floor environments.

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Did You Know?

Like all proturans, this species was completely unknown to science until Filippo Silvestri first described the order in 1907.