Courtship song and mating speed in hybrids betweenDrosophila melanogaster andDrosophila simulans

Abstract

Courtship song and mating speed of hybrids betweenDrosophila melanogaster andD. simulans were investigated. The courtship song of hybrid males is identical to that ofD. simulans, suggesting that X chromosome determination, known from the cross betweenD. pseudoobscura andD. persimilis, is also possible here. Wingbeat frequency of hybrids is intermediate between that of the two parents, demonstrating that courtship song and wingbeat frequency are inherited independently of each other. In mating tests, hybrid males court and are accepted byD. simulans females more than hybrid females (presumably because their song is more “acceptable” to the former).D. melanogaster females reject hybrid males. Hybrid females acceptD. melanogaster males readily, hybrids less readily, andD. simulans least.