Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Tiny

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Rare

About

This fruit fly lives inside the developing flesh of hawthorn and apple trees. It uses a specialized ovipositor to inject eggs directly into the skin of ripening fruit.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Diptera

Family

Tephritidae

Genus

Rhagoletis