Description

Adult

Length of 3.5 to 5 mm. Main colour is yellowish with brown tinges. Lower corners of face with white setae. Ocellar bristles present. Male has a pair of bristles with enlarged spatulate tips near the inner margins of eyes. Thorax creamy yellow with dark blotches. Scutellum inflated and shiny black.

Larvae

White, cylindrical with anterior end narrowed with mouth hooks. Last instar is 7-9 mm in length with 9-10 anterior buccal carinae. Anterior spiracles are usually straight on dorsal edge of tubule row.

Eggs

Eggs are smooth, white and long and slender, with a slight curve. The micropylar region is distinctly tubercular.

Distribution

Southern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, South and Central America.

Economic Host(s)

Over 300 fruit and vegetable species. Preferred hosts include coffee, peach, mango, guava and solanaceous plants such as peppers.

Symptoms/Signs

Females puncture the fruits to lay eggs beneath the skin surface. Some sugary fruits will produce a sugary exudate at puncture holes.

Generations:

5-7