Posts Tagged: maggots
Black Soldier Flies: Mostly Beneficial
Two years ago, overwhelmed by carpets of wormy, windfall apples I resorted to tossing them into a...
No Fun Having a 'Hole in One'
It's no fun having a "hole in one." No, not golf. A hole in your butterfly habitat. So, here it...
Tachinid fly maggot crawls from a monarch chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a tachinid fly maggot, freshly emerged from its host, a monarch chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Size comparison: a penny, a newly emerged tachinid fly maggot and pupae. The maggot will soon darken and harden and turn into a pupa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A June Bridal Couple That Monarch Moms and Dads Will Hate
Ready for those June weddings? Coming to an altar near you...a bride and a groom. "When you marry...
ENT 1 Student Showcase Flyer 2017
Time for a June wedding--an insect wedding photo. These are tachinid flies on a rose leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is a bridal couple photo that monarch moms and dads out there will hate. Close-up of two tachinid flies. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Tachinid fly maggots emerging from their host, a monarch caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A tachinid fly maggot emerging from its host, a monarch chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
As Green as a...Well...Green Bottle Fly
Strange thing, nobody ever says "as green as a green bottle fly." 'Cept maybe an...
A green bottle fly nectaring on Lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Eye to eye with a green bottle fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Fruit fly and fungus gnat damage to strawberry fruits
Two species of dipteran larva (maggots) were found feeding on strawberry fruits in the Santa Maria area recently. Last year, there was a minor issue of fungus gnat larvae and another species (probably Delia sp.) damaging young strawberry plants, but the recent observations are isolated incidents of damage to the fruit. Specimens brought to the Santa Barbara Ag Commissioner's office were identified by the county entomologist, Dr. Brian Cabrera.
Strawberries from a greenhouse in the Santa Maria area were infested with dark-winged fungus gnat larvae (Family: Sciaridae). These maggots have a dark head capsule and a worm-like body.
![Fungus gnat larva on strawberry Fungus gnat larva on strawberry](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/strawberries-vegetables/blogfiles/9589.jpg)
Dark-winged fungus gnat larva feeding on a strawberry (above). Larvae have dark, shiny head capsule with a whitish, slender, worm-like body (below). Photos by: Brian Cabrera
![Fungus gnat larva Fungus gnat larva](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/strawberries-vegetables/blogfiles/9590.jpg)
The second incident was where some field strawberries were heavily infested with the larvae of the fruit fly, Drosophila simulans Sturtevant. It is a species very closely related to the common fruit fly, D. melanogaster. Both fruit fly species are very similar, but can be distinguished based on the characters of external male genitalia.
![Drosophila simulans larva on strawberry Drosophila simulans larva on strawberry](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/strawberries-vegetables/blogfiles/9591.jpg)
Fruit fly, Drosophila simulans larva in damaged strawberry (above) and adult female (below). Photo by: Brian Cabrera
![Adult female of Drosophila simulans Adult female of Drosophila simulans](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/strawberries-vegetables/blogfiles/9592.jpg)
Fungus gnats or fruit flies are normally not considered as pests of strawberries. Ripe fruit left on the plants could have attracted resulting in the damage we noticed. With good sanitation practices and timely harvesting, these insects are not expected to damage strawberry fruits.
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Reference:
Sturtevant, A. H. 1920. Genetic studies on Drosophila simulans. I. Introduction. Hybrids with Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 5: 488-500. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1200491/pdf/488.pdf)