Insect of the Month: Fruit Fly (Drosophila melanogaster)
Fruit flies feed primarily on moist, decaying, organic food items including fruits, vegetables and other fermenting liquids.
Fruit fly infestations can be identified by numerous adult insects flying around a food source or from the maggots infesting decaying food. In heavy fruit fly infestations, pupae can be found some distance from the food source when the larvae migrate away to find a dry, dark, and safe place to pupate.
What do fruit flies look like?
Fruit Fly Adults: Adults are 3 mm (0.125 inches) long. Common Fruit Flies have red eyes. The thorax is brown/tan and the abdomen black.
Fruit Fly Eggs: Eggs are 0.5 mm (0.02 inches) long. They are yellow in color and similar in shape to a grain of rice.
Fruit Fly Larvae: Larvae AKA (maggot) are 3-4mm (0.125 inches) long and is wormlike and pale white/yellow in color.
Fruit Fly Pupae: Pupae are yellowish brown and 3 mm (0.125 inches) long.
What is the fruit fly life cycle?
The reproductive potential of fruit flies is quite high. Females can lay upwards of 500 eggs in her lifetime and the entire lifecycle, from egg to adult, can be completed in about 7 days in warm temperatures. Eggs are laid directly on food sources and under average room temperature, the eggs hatch into larvae within a day or two.
The larva grows for about 4-5 days followed by a pupation period of about the same length.
Monitoring Guidelines for Fruit Fly (Drosophila melanogaster)
Click on the image or insect name above to view monitoring guidelines for fruit flies. These guidelines include details on Description, Lifecycle, Damage and Detection, Corresponding Products, Fun Facts, and more!
Stay tuned
Next week we are going to be sharing a solution Insects Limited offers when dealing with fruit flies.
Insects Limited, an Insect Pheromone Company
Insects Limited, Inc. researches, tests, develops, manufactures and distributes pheromones and trapping systems for insects in a global marketplace. The highly qualified staff also can assist with consultation, areas of expert witness, training presentations and grant writing.
Insects Limited, Inc. specializes in a unique niche of pest control that provides mainstream products and services to protect stored food, grain, museum collections, tobacco, timber and fiber worldwide. Please take some time to view these products and services in our web store.
