Frequent Specimens - Fruit Flies

Fruit Flies

Genus “Drosophila” is the genus name for what we call “fruit flies” or, sometimes pomace, vinegar, or wine flies, which speaks to their propensity–in the case of many species–for hanging around and feeding on overripe or rotting fruit.  The entire genus, however, contains more than 1,500 species and is very diverse in appearance, behavior, and breeding habitat.  The larvae of at least one species, Drosophila suzukii, which in Maine we know primarily by the name of Spotted-wing Drosophila or SWD for short, is a newly introduced species from Asia that can also feed in fresh fruit and has quickly become a major threat to soft-skinned fruits throughout most of the state (see fact sheets and photos below).

Detailed Fact Sheets:

• Fruit Flies Fact Sheet (Iowa State University)
• Spotted-wing Drosophila (SWD) (Drosophila suzukii) (invasive) (University of New Hampshire)
• Spotted-wing Drosophila (SWD) (Drosophila suzukii) (invasive) (Michigan State University)
• Spotted-wing Drosophila 2012 Season Summary by David Handley, Vegetable & Small Fruit Specialist; James Dill, Pest Management Specialist, and Kaytlin Woodman, Technician, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

A typical household fruit fly (Right: The fly is resting and feeding on a Concord grape)

A pair of Spotted-wing Drosophila fruit flies; Male, left, and female, right); The males have a prominent, dark spot on each wing, as can be seen in this photo.

Spotted-wing Drosophila fruit flies (Drosophila suzukii) (a.k.a. the Asian fruit fly) stuck to a UMaine Extension sticky trap; The males have a prominent, dark spot on each wing, as can be seen in this photo.