Apple maggot (also known as the apple fruit fly) is an insect that causes damage to the fruit of a tree. It can be found on apple trees as well as other fruit varieties. If left unchecked, apple maggots can damage almost all of the fruit on infested trees.

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Appearance:

(Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org)

  • The larvae overwinters in the soil and feeds on the fruit, creating pitted skin and small brown trails inside the flesh. Apple maggot can cause the fruit to become brown, soft, and rotten. The larvae are cylindrical, tapering from a blunt posterior to a pointed head, and have no legs; Mature larvae are creamy white except for two dark mouth hooks and are 3/16-1/4” long, a bit smaller than a housefly.

  • Apple maggot fly is about the size of a common housefly; AM has a black body with cream-colored bands, the male abdomen is blunter in shape, and the female’s abdomen is more pointed.

Damage:

  • Primary hosts are hawthorn and apple, but can be found on members of the Rosaceae family

  • Larvae tunnel through apples feeding on the flesh

  • Damaged fruit appears knobby and misshapen with pits or blemishes on the outer surface

  • Damaged apples turn brown and discolored with streaks running through the flesh

Timing:

  • Overwinters in the soil as a pupa

  • Adults begin to emerge in late-June or early-July and remain active until October

  • Only one generation per year

Management & Treatment:

  • Remove any fallen fruit from the orchard floor and actively remove infested fruit

  • Planting an insectary garden can attract beneficial predators that decrease the population

  • Avoid early ripening varieties as they are a primary target of the apple maggot

  • Kaolin clay applied as a spray to leaves, stems, and fruit, acts as a repellant to some insect pests

  • Monitor with Red Ball sticky traps (place head height at the outer edge of trees). Clean and/or replace traps during season.

  • Drench soil with parasitic nematodes in early spring

Sources: Michael Phillips, “The Holistic Orchard”

For additional resources on apple maggot, visit this page on the Missouri Botanical Garden website.