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Cherry fruit fly (CFF) and black cherry fruit fly (BCFF) overwinter as pupae in the soil and complete only one generation per year. First emergence occurs in late May or early June when early tart cherries begin to show a tinge of color. BCFF emerges about a week before CFF.
Flies continue to emerge for about a month, with peak emergence taking place in late June to early July. After a 7-10 day pre-egg-laying period, females deposit eggs in the fruit, and hatching larvae immediately burrow in to feed. |
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The cherry fruit fly is
about 4.5 mm. |
The black cherry fruit fly is also
about 4.5 mm. |
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| Differentiating between CFF and BCFF |
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CFF and BCFF flies are slightly smaller than a house fly. Both have black bodies, yellowish brown legs and heads. They can be differentiated based on wing pattern (see diagram). In addition, the BCFF abdomen is entirely black, while CFF males and females have 3 or 4 white bands on the abdomen, respectively. |
| Apple maggot |
Black cherry fruit fly. |
Cherry fruit fly. |
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| CFF larva on cherry. |
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| Entry hole in cherry. |
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Monitoring: The date of first emergence, as well as subsequent activity, of CFF and BCFF can be monitored using yellow sticky traps baited with ammonium acetate. Place traps adjacent to border areas with known alternate hosts of these flies: pin cherry for the BCFF, wild black cherry for the CFF. Hang traps two weeks after shuck split when fruit begins to take on a yellowish color. The greater the number of traps deployed per acre (at least one trap per 2.5 acres), the greater the confidence level in basing treatment decisions on fly catch. Proper trap maintenance is crucial to trap effectiveness. Use on-farm fly catches along with regional trapping information to determine control treatment timing. Because of 0% tolerance for CFF in harvested fruit, a conservative approach is recommended. Applications of OPs and other contact insecticides are timed for fruit fly egg laying, which occurs 7-10 days after the first fly is captured. If a fly is trapped on-farm and a regional trap catch is recorded prior to the on-farm fruit fly capture, the treatment should be applied 7-10 days after the earliest capture. Basing treatment decisions solely on regional information may lead to unnecessary insecticide applications. If you are using a newer insecticide chemistry that requires ingestion of the material for effective control, the insecticide should be applied immediately after the first fly has been captured in a trap. |
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| Urophora quadrifasciata and Urophora affinis, the knapweed gall flies, are small tephritid flies that may be mistaken for cherry fruit fly in yellow sticky monitoring traps. The wing bands are different from those of cherry fruit fly, but U. quadrifascata has the characteristic break between the front and hind wing bands. The knapweed gall flies are smaller (3-4 mm) than the economically important fruit flies, and the females have a long, needlelike ovipositer. |
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| U. quadrifasciata |
U. affinis |
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| This information was developed from A Pocket Guide for IPM Scouting in Stone Fruits by David Epstein, Larry J. Gut, Alan L. Jones and Kimberly Maxson-Stein. Purchase this in a pocket-sized guide for reference in the orchard from MSU Extension (publication E-2840). |
