Insect of the Month - Currant Fruit Fly

 
  Hort Snacks - April 2018
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 Euphranta canadensis

Crops Affected:
Black, red and white currants, gooseberries

Life Cycle:

  • Adult is a small fly, pale to dark yellow in colour, with a banded pattern on the wings
  • Adults emerge around mid-May to early June
  • Adults lay 1 egg under the skin of the each developing green fruit, with egg laying lasting for up to one month. Each female can lay up to 165 eggs over her lifespan
  • Surviving eggs hatch within approximately 1 week, and feed on the seeds within the berry for approximately 2 weeks
  • Larvae go through 3 instars over the course of their development. Late instars drill a hole in the fruit to breathe
  • Infested fruit (fruit that have an egg placed under the skin) will ripen and drop prematurely; some fruit will remain on the tree
  • Mature larvae leave the fruit and drop to the ground to pupate in the soil close to the base of the plant
Symptoms:
  • Infested fruit may contain maggots
Monitoring:
  • Adult flies can be found out of direct sunlight on leaves at the centre of the plant. Shaded plants will have more flies that plants in sunny locations
  • Adults can be found where fruit are occurring
  • Yellow sticky traps baited with apple maggot attractant can be hung within the bush at fruit level from green fruit to early harvest to monitor adult numbers.
  • Examine dropped fruit for the presence of whitish eggs under the surface of the skin
  • Egg-laying sites may have a slight brownish discolouration around the wound
Management:
  • Regular, daily collection and removal of fallen fruit may result in a gradual reduction in the number of flies
  • Cultivation of soil beneath bushes will disturb soil and expose pupating larvae to potential predators
  • Pick fruit late to avoid maggoty fruit
  • Later maturing varieties are preferred by CFF
  • Apply registered chemicals to control adults – consult label for details
 
 
 
 
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For more information about the content of this document, contact Robert Spencer.
This information published to the web on March 26, 2018.