Mediterranean fruit fly, popularly called the Medfly, is a flying insect slightly smaller than the common house fly. The Medfly is well known as an agricultural pest that destroys hundreds of kinds of fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
Scientists believe that the Medfly originated in tropical west Africa. Long ago, it made its way to northern and southern Africa, southern Europe, and Asia. It had spread throughout the Mediterranean region by 1850. The fly was found in Australia in the late 1800’s, and it appeared in Brazil and Hawaii in the early 1900’s. In 1929, the Medfly was discovered in Florida. By mid-1930, all of these flies had apparently been destroyed. Since that time, several other invasions of the fly in California, Florida, and Texas have also been stopped.
The Medfly is about 1/4 inch (6 millimeters) long. Its wings are clear with yellowish-orange and light brown spots and banding. The female can lay as many as 1,000 eggs in her lifetime and up to 40 per day. She typically lays eggs in a ripe fruit still on the tree. She drills tiny holes into the skin or rind, and lays from two to six eggs in each hole. The eggs hatch into larvae (young), which eat their way through the fruit, causing it to drop to the ground. The larvae later burrow into the ground for the protection in the pupal stage of development. They come out of the ground as adults.
The Medfly thrives in a warm climate. Extremely hot or cold weather can kill it. There are also several insect parasites that destroy the larvae and pupae of the Medfly. These parasites can help control the fly, but they cannot eliminate it.
