Abstract
1. 1. Two columnar cacti in the Sonoran Desert, agria and organpipe, contain medium chain (C 8−C 12) fatty acids. 2. 2. Necrotic tissues of these cacti serve as feeding and breeding substrates for Drosophila mojavensis but not D. nigrospiracula. 3. 3. Results show that capric and lauric acids are the predominant fatty acids of both cacti. 4. 4. Fatty acid chain length exhibits a differential effect on larval viability with caprylic acid (Q) having the greatest and myristic acid (C 14) having the least effect. 5. 5. Drosophila mojavensis is more tolerant of free fatty acids than D. nigrospiracula, and this partly explains the ability of D. mojavensis to utilize agria and organpipe cacti.
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