Olive fruit fly

COMMON NAME: Olive fruit fly

SIZE: about 5 mm long and 10 mm wingspan

LIFECYCLE: Emergence of adults can begin in early spring. Egg-laying normally occurs in fruits from June to July. Each female lays 200-250 eggs, using its ovopositor to lay one egg per fruit within the pulp. The egg (about 1 mm in length and white) hatches after a few days, depending on the climatic conditions; the larva immediately begins to feed itself by digging tunnels through the pulp of the fruit. In the summer months the complete cycle from egg to adult is completed in about 3 weeks. The 1st generation is followed by others whose number varies, depending on the weather; cooler regions will have only 2-3 generations, while milder regions can have up to 6-7 generations. In the warmer months there is a slowdown in egg-laying which resumes in late summer and autumn. In certain areas that are particularly favourable to the pest, and in olive groves where olives remain on the trees, the cycle is almost constant and the number of generations can be even higher.

FEATURES: has a background golden-brown colour, a reddish head and green eyes with a metallic appearance. The chest is ash coloured, streaked with black, and the scutellum is yellow. The wings are transparent and iridescent; the abdomen presents black markings.

HABITAT: olive trees and olives.

DIET: The adults feed on the sugary materials, proteins, and the juice that comes from olives after they have been punctured for egg-laying. The larvae live by feeding on the flesh of the fruit.

DAMAGE: typical punctures on the surface of olive. The insect lays eggs inside the olive that will serve as nourishment to the larvae. This the parasite that causes the most damage to olive culture as the egg-laying causes scabbing (tumors and galls on the branches). Damaged olives yield poor-quality oil, more acid than usual, a completely compromised mouldy aroma.

I want to sterminate it