Apple Maggot Rhagolethis pomonella Order Diptera, Family Tephritidae

This article originally appeared in Scarabogram, May 1999, New Series No. 229, p. 2; with additions in June 1999, No. 230, pp. 2-3.

Last month we found out that the codling moth eats the cores of apples, but leaves the apple by eating a tunnel through the flesh. The mature caterpillars then crawl down the tree trunk to spin a cocoon, a fact which can help us control them. Wrapping the trunk with cardboard from mid-summer to fall allows us to fool the larvae into pupating before they get to the bottom. We then destroy the cardboard and the codling moths. This month we'll focus on the other major "worm" pest of apples, the apple maggot.

Detail drawing of apple maggot adult;
puparium (above right); larva (below right)
As are all maggots, the apple maggot is the immature stage of a fly. The young of the apple maggot are not nearly as well-behaved as the young of the codling moth. The adult flies (nearly the size of a house fly) show up in July and insert their eggs into the flesh of apples. The legless, white maggots eat the flesh throughout the apple, not just the core. Often there are several maggots per apple. Several years ago, most of my apples were infested with apple maggot, and many of my friends had a like experience. In my apples, the maggot damage was more concentrated nearer the core, but the whole flesh was brown and mushy. Not even fit for sauce.

Copyright Â© 1999 by Louise Kulzer