Habitat preference by Drosophila species is genetically conditioned to their different levels of tolerance to environmental factors, and as a rule, invasive species appear to be less sensitive to the structural characteristics of each environment. Drosophila malerkotliana, an invasive species, has been found in Brazil in several environments showing great adaptability to microclimatic variations. This work aims to evaluate the success of this species in four habitats: two forest environments, one field area, and the last one represented by a forest remnant with fruit dumps on the edges. Of the total collected, D. malerkotliana was the species with the highest number of individuals captured, absolutely predominating in the most disturbed environment. In the other forest areas, the species of the Subgroup willistoni predominated, although D. malerkotliana obtained significant percentages. In the open field area, D. malerkotliana showed low frequency. These data indicate an association of D. malerkotliana with forest areas, which shows the sensitivity of the species to variations between environments and that its distribution between habitats is in the opposite direction of native species (Subgroup willistoni).
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