Abstract
The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster communicates acoustically via courtship songs and hears with antennal ears. Research over the past decade has provided insights into the neuronal basis of Drosophila sound production and hearing and the functional workings of Drosophila ears: the neural substrate for song production has been narrowed down to subsets of FruitlessM positive neurons, and the neural pathways for hearing have begun to be revealed. Mechanisms of sound transduction, adaptation, and amplification in the fruit fly’s ear have been uncovered, and auditory relevant molecules have emerged from mutant screens. This chapter summarized the current state of research on Drosophila sound communication and hearing and discusses recent progress in the field.