apple maggot

Symptoms

The female punctures the apple skin to lay eggs, leaving tiny dimples; the maggots tunnel winding brown trails through the flesh, which becomes pitted, distorted and "bumpy", and rots; the fly has a dark F- or zigzag-banded wing pattern. Infested apples drop early. Not present in the EU.

Plants affected

• apple

Easily confused with

• codling moth

  How to tell them apart: Codling moth damage shows a single, clearly visible round entry hole (often near the calyx or side of the fruit) plugged with a heap of moist reddish-brown crumbly frass pushed to the outside. Cut the apple open and you find one larva: a pinkish-white caterpillar up to 18-20 mm long with a distinct brown head and three pairs of true legs, tunnelling straight to the seed core which it hollows out. The flesh tunnel is wide, packed with dark frass, and usually leads to the core. Damage is most obvious in mid-to-late summer on hanging fruit. Apple maggot (an EU-quarantine fruit fly) leaves NO single bored entry hole with external frass; instead the skin shows tiny pin-prick egg-laying punctures that develop into small dimpled, pitted, sunken depressions, often making the fruit look bumpy or distorted. Cut it open and the flesh is riddled with narrow, winding brown tunnels (so-called 'railroad tracks') and contains legless, headless white maggots (no true legs, no dark head capsule) up to about 8 mm, tapering at one end. There is no central frass-filled core tunnel. IMPORTANT: this pest is not established in the EU - if you suspect it, report it immediately to your national plant protection organisation (NPPO).

Common questions

How do I recognise apple maggot on apple?

The female punctures the apple skin to lay eggs, leaving tiny dimples; the maggots tunnel winding brown trails through the flesh, which becomes pitted, distorted and "bumpy", and rots; the fly has a dark F- or zigzag-banded wing pattern. Infested apples drop early.

Do I have to report apple maggot?

Yes. apple maggot is a regulated quarantine organism in the EU. A suspected finding must be reported to your national plant protection organisation — they will confirm it and tell you what to do next.

How is apple maggot treated?

Mainly with biological and cultural measures — removing affected material, changing the conditions that favour it, and treating with agents approved in your country. The exact steps and their timing depend on the plant, the season and where you live: Dr. Phyto works them out in a free diagnosis.