Mexican Fruit Fly

1. Mexican Fruit Fly Anastrephaludens Created By: Mitali Gupta

2. Introduction • Common Name : Mexfly • Scientific Name : Anastrepha ludens • Kingdom : Animalia • Phylum : Anthropoda • Class : Insecta

3. Distribution • From: Mexico and Central America • Found in Rio Grande Valley in Texas, California, Florida and Arizona • Annually migrates into southern Texas • May be introduced to other areas through movement of infested fruit

4. Agricultural inspectors use traps to detect flies Farmers use pesticides to keep free of fly maggots Interaction with Fruit Fly

5. Consequences for People • Farmer’s homegrown produce would look poor • Many foods would drop and rot on the ground • Fruits and Vegetables would be very expensive to grow. • Consumers (us) would have to pay more for produce

6. Effects on Ecosystem • Mexican fruit flies destroy fruits and vegetables which then they lay eggs in the fresh flesh of the food.

7. Food Web • Bats Humans Mexican Fruit Fly Fruits (oranges, avocados, grapefruit) Frogs Animals

8. Why So Successful? • Fruit flies are attracted by the smell of the fruits • They lay maggots in the fruit which increases the population • New flies help find the same kinds of fruits again • The fruit flies reproduce 500 eggs at a time

9. Issues for the Future • Control Growth • Clean orchards or leftover fruit after harvest • After harvest results to migration to non-cultivate areas with non-cultivated fruits • Trade-Offs • With clean orchards = Decrease in population • Without clean orchards = Damage to many produce

10. References • entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/fruit/.../mexican_fruit_fly.htm • www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pdep/.../mexican_ff_profile.html • www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/invasive/1mexff.html • www.invasive.org/species/subject.cfm?sub=4932 • http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/mexfly.shtml