Western Cherry Fruit Fly – Rhagoletis

Western Cherry Fruit Fly: Appearance, Territory, Damage and Life Cycle Latin Name: Rhagoletis Indifferens Appearance: The adult’s body is black with white streaks across the abdomen. The transparent wings have a unique dark banding pattern. The wing design immediately distinguishes it from other fruit flies. The fly measures about a 1/5 inch (5 mm) in length just a little smaller than a house fly. The female is slightly larger than the male. Host Plant: The western cherry fruit fly (Rhagoletis Indifferens) is the most important pest of sweet and tart cherries. Western cherry fruit fly attacks all varieties of cultivated and wild cherries. Prunus avium (sweet cherry), Prunus cerasus (sour cherry), Prunus mahale (Mahaleb cherry), and Prunus serotina (wild cherry) are the main hosts of Western Cherry Fruit Fly. Territory: Western Cherry Fruit Fly is native to North America, and in the early 1900s, it was observed affecting commercial cherry in the Pacific Northwest. The Western Cherry Fruit Fly is a North American native that has been spotted in the Pacific Northwest since the 1940s. In 1942, it was discovered in the Yakima Valley, and in 1950, it was discovered in the Wenatchee area. Damage Caused: Young fruit is damaged by adult cherry fruit fly females laying eggs. Fruit that has been attacked will be pitted with oviposition punctures known as ‘sting marks,’ which may become discolored if secondary infections enter. The larvae that grow within the fruit and feed on the flesh cause damage. Larvae (maggots) eat the flesh of cherry near the pit, making them unmarketable. Life Cycle and habits: Cherry fruit flies overwinter in the soil as pupae. Adults emerge from the earth in the spring, around halfway through the growing season, and feed for a few days on materials on the surface of the leaves and fruit before laying eggs. This is the most vulnerable stage of the fruit fly’s life cycle, and it’s also the optimum moment to take action. Each female may lay between 300 and 400 eggs. Although more than one egg can be laid in a single fruit, only one larva grows. In five to eight days after oviposition, the eggs hatch, and the juvenile larvae tunnel directly to the surface of the cherry seed. At 77°F, they go through three instars in an average of 11 days. When the cherry is fully ripe, the larvae develop, fall to the ground, and burrow to a depth of one to three inches in the soil, where they pupate and overwinter. Infested cherries do not fall from the tree at first, and sunken regions may form. It’s possible that up to 75% of the cherries will be contaminated by the time they’re harvested. When early types’ fruits are picked, larvae are likely to be present, and they may pass undetected and spread over the nation. A few flies emerge as a second generation in August and September, but the majority of flies take a year to complete their life cycle.