Pest Identification:

The color of the fly is highly variable but mostly yellow with dark markings on the thorax and abdomen. Generally, the abdomen has two horizontal black stripes and a longitudinal median stripe extending from the base of the third segment to the apex of the abdomen. These markings may form a “T” shaped pattern, but the pattern varies considerably.

Damage To Crop:

Eggs of B. dorsalis are laid below the skin of the host fruit. These hatch within 1-3 days and the larvae feed for another 9-35 days. Females begin to lay eggs about 8 days after emergence from the puparium. Under optimum conditions, a female can lay more than 3,000 eggs during her lifetime, but under field conditions approximately 1,200 to 1,500 eggs per female is considered to be the usual production. Ripe fruit are preferred for egg laying, but immature ones may be also attacked. Larval feeding in fruits is the most damaging. Damage usually consists of breakdown of tissues and internal rotting associated with maggot infestation, but this varies with the type of fruit attacked. Infested young fruit becomes distorted, callused and usually drop; mature attacked fruits develop a water soaked appearance. The larval tunnels provide entry points for bacteria and fungi that cause the fruit to rot. When only a few larvae develop, damage consists of an unsightly appearance and reduced marketability because of the egg laying punctures or tissue break down due to the decay.