Ca2+-dependent proteolytic activity was detected at pH 7.5 in head extracts of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. This activity was abolished by iodoacetate, but was unaffected by phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride. These properties resemble those of the Ca2+-dependent thiol-proteinase calpain. The activity appeared at Mr 280,000 on Sepharose CL-6B gel chromatography. DEAE-cellulose chromatography revealed two activity peaks, with elution positions corresponding to vertebrate calpains I and II. The fly head enzymes were inhibited by a heat-stable and trypsin-sensitive component of the fly head extract, which also inhibited calpains from rat kidney. The inhibitor emerged from Sepharose CL-6B columns at Mr 310,000 and from DEAE-cellulose at a position corresponding to the protein inhibitor calpastatin from other sources. It is concluded that Drosophila heads comprise the Ca2+-dependent calpain-calpastatin proteolytic system.