Western Cherry Fruit Fly


Hosts: cherry
Biology: Western cherry fruit fly is a common pest of cherries in northern and central Utah and in Idaho. Every cherry can be infested by a maggot if populations are high. The dark banding pattern on the wings of the cherry fruit fly is a malformed letter “F” with the cross-bar originating from the upper vertical bar rather than the upright bar.
Symptoms/Damage: Small holes in fruit with maggots inside; collapsed fruit if injury is severe; larvae floating in tart cherry harvest tanks.
Monitoring: Yellow stick traps baited with ammonium carbonate.
Treatment Threshold: No threshold determined.
Degree Day Model:
- Lower threshold: 41°F
Management Considerations: To prevent egg-laying in fruits, treat when fruits develop a salmon blush color. Proper timing of insecticides is important.