Resource assessment via sensory information has been shown to have internal effects on physiology as well as more noticeable behavioral effects. Specifically, the regulation of longevity and fecundity in Drosophila melanogaster adults is connected to diet restriction and olfactory sensing of nutrient availability. The effects of this food odorant/diet restriction response on the development of D. melanogaster larvae have never been tested, despite the possibility that nutrient availability, and, therefore, nutrient sensing, may be more important to this developmental stage than to an emerged adult fly. This study was performed to determine the effects of diet restriction and food odorants on the time and success of pupation and emergence in D. melanogaster. Equal numbers of eggs from two lines of flies, a mutant for the olfactory receptor gene Or83b and a control with the same genetic background, were exposed to four treatments of normal diet or restricted diet with or without yeast odorants. It was found that genotype and diet, but not odorant exposure, had a great impact on larval development.