flies that prefer damaged or overripe fruit, spotted-wing drosophila can lay eggs in healthy, ripening soft-skinned fruits. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and cherries can all be affected.
The larvae are extremely small and pale, which makes them difficult to notice while they’re inside the fruit.
🪰 How Do They Get Inside Strawberries?
Female spotted-wing drosophila have a specialized, serrated ovipositor that allows them to pierce the skin of ripening fruit and deposit their eggs beneath the surface.
Once the eggs hatch, the larvae feed inside the fruit as it continues to ripen.
