| This is a personal essay commemorating Brncic as a keen naturalist/evolutionist in the best Darwinian sense. His innate curiosity, so important in a scientist, led him to the discovery of cenain unique drosophilid flies in Chile. The life cycle of one species of flower-fly (Drosophila flavopilosa) is of special interest. Females oviposit in fresh flowers of a solanaceous plant that is widespread in Chilean valleys. Twenty years of combined ecological and genetic work, carried out on this species, pioneers the use of a highly specialized Drosophila species in the study of population genetics and evolution. Many eco-genetic features are revealed that are important supplements to observations made on the widely-studied generalist species of the genus |
