drosophila

[droh-sof-uh-luh, druh-] /droʊˈsɒf ə lə, drə-/
noun, plural drosophilas, drosophilae
[droh-sof-uh-lee, druh-] /droʊˈsɒf əˌli, drə-/ (Show IPA)
1.
a fly of the genus Drosophila, especially D. melanogaster, used in laboratory studies of genetics and development.
Origin
< Neo-Latin < Greek dróso(s) dew + Neo-Latin -phila < Greek -philē, feminine of -philos -phile
Examples from the web for drosophila
  • But they exist already, as your drosophila anecdote illustrates.
British Dictionary definitions for drosophila

drosophila

/drɒˈsɒfɪlə/
noun (pl) -las, -lae (-ˌliː)
1.
any small dipterous fly of the genus Drosophila, esp D. melanogaster, a species widely used in laboratory genetics studies: family Drosophilidae. They feed on plant sap, decaying fruit, etc Also called fruit fly, vinegar fly
Word Origin
C19: New Latin, from Greek drosos dew, water + -phila; see -phile
Word Origin and History for drosophila
n.

scientific name of a fruit fly, 1829, from Modern Latin (Fallén, 1823), from Greek drosos "dew" + philos "loving" see -phile).

drosophila in Science
drosophila
  (drō-sŏf'ə-lə)   
Any of various small fruit flies of the genus Drosophila, one species of which (D. melanogaster) is used extensively in genetic research to study patterns of inheritance and the functions of genes.