Strains set up from single inseminated females of D. melanogaster from the wild differ in their resistance to the anaesthetics, ether and chloroform. The main differences between four selected extreme strains could be explained by additive genes, which in the case of ether resistance were located to regions of chromosomes 2 and 3. The lack of correspondence between ether and chloroform resistance between strains indicates that although the type of genetic architecture controlling the traits is similar, the actual genes differ, which is reasonable in view of their differing chemical structures. Quite high heritabilities were found for resistance to ether based on five inbred strains. No significant associations between resistance to ether and body weight, developmental rate or longevity were found.It is clear that resistance to both anaesthetics would be amenable to more detailed genetic analyses. It is pointed out that the general conclusions reached from such studies will have implications with respect to the effect of chemicals such as insecticides, not naturally present in nature.