Number of sternopleural bristles was studied in Drosophila ananassae, D. malerkotliana, D. bipectinata and D. biarmipes which are of common occurrence in India. In all the species (except D. biarmipes in which only one strain is available), several wild strains derived from ecogeographically distant localities and maintained in the laboratory for varying number of generations were utilized. Mean number of bristles varies in different species and bristle number is significantly higher in D. ananassae as compared to D. malerkotliana, D. bipectinata and D. biarmipes. Further, females in general possess more bristles than males. The results provide evidence for interspecific variation in the number of sternopleural bristles which has been discussed in the light of adaptive significance of bristle number.