Cherry Fruit Fly

(Rhagoletis cerasi), an insect of the family Trypetidae. The body length is 3-6 mm, and the coloring is shiny brown. The head, scutellum, and legs are yellow; the wings have four transverse bands. The insect is found mainly in Europe; in the USSR, in the European part (south of the Leningrad Oblast). The cherry fruit fly damages the gean, cherry, and honeysuckle. The pupae hibernate in the soil in pupariums, and the flies emerge in the spring. The eggs are laid singly in the flesh of fruits. The larvae feed on the flesh, then emerge into the soil and pupate. Late varieties of geans suffer especially heavy damage from cherry fruit flies. Protective measures include fall plowing of the soil between rows and around the base of the trees, harvesting the crop in a short time period and careful picking of all fruits, and treating the trees with insecticides before the flies lay their eggs.