Genetic and sensory aspects of mating success of phototactic strains of Drosophila melanogaster.

In female choice experiments, Drosophila melanogaster males from a selected photonegative strain show a highly significant mating advantage over males from a photopositive strain. While photonegative behavior is sex linked in this species, the X chromosome is not involved in the mating advantage seen for this strain. The degree of the photonegative male advantage changes when tests are conducted with females mutant for olfaction and auditory perception but not when females are blind.