General Information
Caribbean Fruit Fly Pest Profile
Common Name:
Caribbean Fruit Fly
Scientific Name:
Order and Family:
Description:
The Caribbean fruit fly is about 1/3 inch long. It has a yellow tan body with a black spot on the top of the thorax at the scutellum, and clear wings with a typical brown Anastrepha-type wing pattern with an "S" across the wing (Fig. 1). The female ovipositor is about as long as the abdomen. The immature stages are superficially similar to those of other exotic fruit flies. Eggs are white, very small, elongate, and somewhat banana-shaped. Larvae are white, legless, and somewhat carrot-shaped. The pupa is contained inside an elongate oval, shiny brown, hard puparium.
Distribution:
The Caribbean fruit fly is widespread throughout the West Indies, being reported from the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. It was present in Florida during the 1930's, but apparently died out. It was rediscovered in south Florida in 1965, and quickly spread throughout much of the state. Its present United States distribution is restricted to central and southern Florida. Adults have been trapped in California six times since 1983.
Life Cycle:
Females lay eggs singly under the skin of mature to overripe host fruits. Time taken for development depends on the ambient temperature. Maggots tunnel through the fruit feeding on the pulp, shed their skins twice, and emerge through exit holes in 10-14 days. The larvae drop from the fruit and burrow into the soil to pupate. In 10 to 14 days, adults emerge from these puparia. Breeding is continuous, with several generations possible each year.
Hosts and Economic Importance:
The Caribbean fruit fly has been recorded infesting a number of cultivated and wild fruit including apple, avocado, bell pepper, carambola, citrus, date palm, guava, kumquat, loquat, mango, papaya, peach, pear, pomegranate, and tropical almond. In California, the combined 2005 gross value of the above hosts was over $2.7 billion (USDA NASS 2006).