Sex combs which lack in females are characteristic of some members of the subgenus Sophophora When present, they can be van/ from a single blistle to very extensive structures, but the meianogaster subgroup of the subgenus Sophophora have only on the f~rst tarsal segments of the fore legs. D mauritiona among the melanogaster compler of the melar~ogaster subgroup have significantly more sex comb teeth (mean 12.75) than other specie& and the yakubo complex (range of the mean 6.84-758) have less than the melanogaster complex (range of the mean 835-12.75). In sex comb tooth number of interspecd~ch ybrids among the melonogoster complex, there appeared difference u;ith parental species Thus, analysis of male sex comb tooth in FI hybrid could not exhibit the direction of hereditan/ nature. On the other hand, D auraria (the montium subgroup), D suzuki (the suzuki subgroup) and D, lutecens (the takohashii subgroup) of the melanogaster species have two sex combs on the first and second tarsal segments, and the mean number were different according to the species.