Cherry fruit fly, this striking fly of ± 5 mm lays eggs in almost ripe cherries.
Also known as:
European cherry fruit fly
Cherry fruit fly (Rhagoletis cerasi). This striking fly of ± 5 mm lays eggs in almost ripe cherries. Cherry flies fly from late May to early July. They feed on the cherry’s sugars and sweet honeydew produced by aphids. After about thirteen days, the females lay ± 70 eggs one by one in the cherries. After a ± week days the eggs hatch and white legless larvae appear that feed on the pulp of the cherries. The larvae pupate in the soil, where they overwinter.
Where to find
Control
Use commercially available yellow sticky straps.
Prevention
The cherry fly is attracted by the color yellow: a strip of yellow glue tape catches away a lot of flies during the months of May, June and July. Also available: sticky plate traps.
