Drosophila sharpi is a rare species of fly

Fly

True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...

, one of several species known as the Hawaiian picture-wing flies. It is endemic to Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, where it is known only from the island of Kauai

Kauai

Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...

. It was federally listed as an endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

 of the United States in 2010.

This fly lives in wet forest habitat between about 3000 and 4000 feet in elevation on the island of Kauai. It is a microbivore that lives on decomposing plant material, likely from Cheirodendron

Cheirodendron

Cheirodendron is a genus of flowering plant in the ivy family, Araliaceae. All six species in the genus are endemic to Polynesia. The five Hawaiian species are generally called ōlapa, and occur in wet forests on all major islands as well as some mesic forests, such as Kipuka...

and Tetraplasandra

Tetraplasandra

Tetraplasandra is a genus of flowering plants in the ivy family, Araliaceae. It comprises seven species, all of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.-Species:*Tetraplasandra flynnii Lowry & K.R.Wood...

.