Apple Maggot
Rhagoletis pomonella
Basic Details
Description
Taxonomy
Features
Translations
Basic Details
NameApple Maggot
DescriptionApple maggots create winding, brown trails through the flesh of apples, earning them the nickname 'railroad worms'. Identify pitted, lumpy fruit to save your harvest.
TypeInsect
FamilyTephritidae
GenusRhagoletis
TribeCarpomyini
Taxonomy & Features
PhylumArthropoda
SubphylumHexapoda
ClassInsecta
OrderDiptera
SubfamilyTrypetinae
Features
- Caused by the larvae of a small fruit fly (Rhagoletis pomonella). It is a major pest of apples and hawthorns in North America
- Adult flies are slightly smaller than a housefly, with a black body, white stripes on the abdomen, and distinctive dark zig-zag bands on the wings
- Females use a sharp ovipositor to sting the fruit skin and lay eggs inside. This creates a tiny puncture that becomes a small, dark pit or dimple as the fruit grows
- The larvae (maggots) are creamy-white, legless, and have no distinct head. They tunnel through the flesh, leaving irregular brown, thread-like trails
- Severely infested fruit becomes misshapen, knobby, and lumpy. Internal rotting occurs as decay-causing bacteria are introduced by the tunneling maggots
- Soft-fleshed and early-maturing apple varieties are most vulnerable. Infested fruit often drops to the ground prematurely
- Overwinters as pupae in the soil. Adult flies emerge from late June through August. A single generation occurs each year
- Difficult to detect from the outside until the fruit is cut open. The name 'railroad worm' comes from the appearance of the criss-shaping brown trails
- Monitor for adult flies using yellow sticky cards or red sphere traps baited with apple scent (butyl hexanoate)
- Control by cleaning up and destroying all fallen fruit immediately to prevent larvae from entering the soil. Apply kaolin clay or spinosad sprays during peak fly activity
Names in Different Languages
Latin / ScientificRhagoletis pomonella
English (Alternate)Railroad worm
Hindiसेब का कीड़ा (Seb ka keeda - Maggot)
Tamilஆப்பிள் புழு (Apple puzhu)
Teluguఆపిల్ పురుగు (Apple purugu)
Malayalamആപ്പിൾ മാഗറ്റ് (Apple māgaṭ)
Kannadaಸೇಬಿನ ಮ್ಯಾಗಟ್ (Sēbina myāgaṭ)
Sanskritसेब-मक्षिका-कीट (Seba-makṣikā-kīṭa)
Bengaliআপেল ম্যাগট (Apple maggot)
Frenchmouche de la pomme
Russianяблонная муха (yablonnaya mukha)
Spanishgusano de la manzana
GermanApfelfruchtfliege
