Field Identification
A highly polyphagous tephritid that stings ripening fruit to lay eggs; larvae liquefy pulp and trigger quarantines. Adults are strong fliers drawn to protein and male lure traps—your orchard's least welcome tourist.
Yellow to brown body with dark wing patterns and a yellow thorax with dark stripes; slightly larger than house flies. Larvae are creamy maggots tunneling fruit.
How to Deal With It
Organic Control Methods
Protein bait sprays using approved organic protein hydrolysate plus botanical toxicants (e.g., spinosad) target feeding adults—spot or strip applications spare many non-targets; no broad-spectrum cover sprays needed for compliance in many programs.
Classical parasitoids such as Fopius arisanus (egg), Diachasmimorpha longicaudata, and D. tryoni (larval) where released; augmentative releases occur in area-wide programs.
Strip roadside and backyard hosts; harvest fruit at proper maturity; double-bag or solarize infested fruit; host-free periods where regulations allow.
Male annihilation with lure-based devices in regulatory frameworks; fine mesh fruit bagging on high-value trees.
Trapping networks for early detection; public education on host fruit movement; cooperate with regulatory boundaries—this is a community-scale pest.
Let Nature Handle It
Natural Enemies
- Fopius arisanus
- Diachasmimorpha longicaudata
- Diachasmimorpha tryoni
Threat Map