Geographic Range
Drosophila melanogaster has been introduced to every continent of the world with one exception, Antarctica. On other continents its range is limited only by mountain ranges, deserts, and high lattitudes. (Demerec 1950) The natural range of D. melanogaster is throughout the Old World tropics. Humans have helped to spread Drosophila melanogaster to every other location which it inhabits. (Demerec, 1950; Patterson and Stone, 1952)