CARIBBEAN FRUIT FLY (CFF): Anastrepha suspensa (Loew) Order - Diptera: Family - Tephritidae

DISTRIBUTION: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, south and central FL. CFF was 1st collected in Cuba.

DESCRIPTION:Eggs (Fig 3 - typical fruit fly egg)are small (1mm), both ends bluntly pointed. The larvae (Fig 4- typical fruit fly larvae) are 9-13 mm long when full-grown, creamy colored, cylindrical tapering maggots. Pupae (Fig 5 – typical fruit fly larvae)are cylindrical 11-segmented capsules, reddish brown at maturity.

The adult fly (Fig 1) is yellowish-brown and ½ to 2 times larger than a housefly, with rather long patterned wings. Like other members of the genus, the ♀ has a conspicuous ovipositor, but the CFF can be distinguished by a black posterior spot on the thorax. Wing bands (Fig 2) are yellow brown to brown with costal and S bands touching or narrowly separated at the second longitudinal vein. In ♂ CCF the inverted V band is always distinctly connected at its apex with the S band.

HOSTS: Nearly 100 tropical and subtropical fruits and vegetables including citrus. Preferred hosts include common guava, peach, Surinam cherry, roseapple, and tropical almond. CFF infests only mature to overripe fruits.

DAMAGE: Feeding larvae reduces interior of fruit to a rotten mass. Egg punctures admit decay organisms.

INSPECTION TIPS: Check prematurely dropped fruit and fruit with softened, darkened, broken down areas, distorted in appearance. Cut fruit and inspect. Look for egg punctures that may be surrounded by liquid droplets or ringed by small craters. Traps filled with water and bated with yeast can be used to detect CFF.

LIFE CYCLE: Eggs are laid singly under the surface of the peel and hatch in about 2 or 3 days; the larval feeding period occupies 10 to 14 days, and pupation about the same amount of time. Development times are prolonged in cool weather. Pupae may be found in fruit but are normally in soil. Adults can live for months. A life cycle can be completed in 30 days under optimum conditions, depending upon weather and ripe fruit availability. Generations overlap. A large number of host plants can assure a constant supply of susceptible fruit in tropical areas.

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