Another tiny diptera

[bub]

I found this guy on my work bench.  He's only about 2.5mm long.  A pretty thing.  Any idea what it is?  I'm in Southern California.

Thanks

[Adam Cotton]

It looks like a species of fruit fly, maybe even family Drosophilidae, but I am not anywhere near an expert on Diptera.

Adam.

[bub]

Thanks, Adam.

[LEPMAN]

Your specimen is definitely as Adam suggested a Drosophila. It is a female since it lacks sex combs on the forelegs and has a lighter hind abdomen. Females can be difficult to identify to species because they lack some of the physical traits that can be used to distinguish species. This one based on what I see may be a Drosophila suzukii or melanogaster. The best way to distinguish between them is by looking at the ovipositor, Suzuki has a barbed ovipositor used to pierce ripe fruit.

[bub]

Thanks, Lepman.

I'm new to this, and I'm amazed at how pretty some of the tiny ones are.