Rhagoletis pomonella

TaxID: 28610

Basic Information

Rhagoletis pomonella

Apple Maggot, apple maggot

The apple maggot (Rhagoletis pomonella), also known as the railroad worm (but distinct from the Phrixothrix beetle larva, also called railroad worm), is a species of fruit fly, and a pest of several types of fruits, mostly apples. This species evolved about 150 years ago through a sympatric shift from the native host hawthorn to the domesticated apple species Malus domestica in the northeastern United States. This fly is believed to have been accidentally spread to the western United States from the endemic eastern United States region through contaminated apples at multiple points throughout the 20th century. The apple maggot uses Batesian mimicry as a method of defense, with coloration resembling that of the forelegs and pedipalps of a jumping spider (family Salticidae). The adult form of this insect is about 5 mm (0.20 in) long, slightly smaller than a housefly. The larva, which is the stage of this insect's lifecycle that causes the actual damage to the fruit, is similar to a typical fly larva or maggot. Caterpillars, especially the larvae of the codling moth, that infest the insides of apples are often confused with the apple maggot. However, these organisms generally feed in the apple's core while apple maggots feed on the fruit flesh. The apple maggot larvae are often difficult to detect in infested fruit due to their pale, cream color and small body size. The adult fly lays its eggs inside the fruit. Larvae consume the fruit and cause it to bruise, decay, and finally drop before ripening. The insect overwinters as a pupa in the soil. It only emerges after metamorphosis into a relatively defenseless fly. Adults emerge from late June through September, with their peak flight times occurring in August.

from Wikipedia

Taxonomic Information

Metazoa

Arthropoda

Insecta

Diptera

Tephritidae

Rhagoletis

pomonella

unclassified

Photos (5 photos)

Rhagoletis pomonella
c
(c) dbeadle@BY-NC
Rhagoletis pomonella
c
(c) Paul Bedell@BY-SA
Rhagoletis pomonella
c
(c) Kurt Steinbach@BY-NC
Rhagoletis pomonella
c
(c) Ilona L@BY-NC-SA
Rhagoletis pomonella
c
(c) tiskolin@BY-NC

Morphological Features

Rhagoletis pomonella adults have a body length of 5–7 mm. The head is yellow or orange, with red eyes. The thorax is shiny black or tan, with three white lines in males and four in females. The wing pattern is characteristic, with a slightly oblique discal band connected to the anterior and posterior apical bands, forming an F-shaped pattern in the apical half; the subapical band is absent. Most specimens have heavy black shading on the posterior surface of the fore femur. Males have an inwardly curved surstyli configuration, which is diagnostic for the species. The ovipositor (aculeus) ranges from 0.90–1.49 mm in northern populations, but southern specimens are generally smaller.

Source: NCBI Life Stage: Adult Source Type: Scholarly article
Citation:

Yee, W. L., Sheets, H. D., & Chapman, P. S. (2011). Analysis of Surstylus and Aculeus Shape and Size Using Geometric Morphometrics to Discriminate Rhagoletis pomonella and Rhagoletis zephyria (Diptera: Tephritidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 104(2), 105–114.

Host Plants (41 host plants)

Data sources: EPPO Global Database and relevant literature.

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Quarantine Status (86 records)

Data sources: IPPC website and national quarantine websites; verified by human review.

Country Status Year Added
Albania Absent —
Argentina Absent 2019
Armenia Absent —
Austria Absent 2019
Azerbaijan Absent 2024
Belgium Unknow 2019
Bulgaria Quarantine pest ((EU) 2019/2072 Annex II A) 2019
Bahrain Quarantine pests 2003
Belarus Absent 1994
Brazil Absent 2018
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Distribution (14 countries)

Data Sources: EPPO Global Database and GBIF.

3
Present
11
Absent
0
Unknown/Other
Country Status State
Afghanistan Absent —
Belgium Absent —
Canada Present —
Switzerland Absent —
Colombia Absent —
Costa Rica Absent —
Lithuania Absent —
Mexico Present —
Netherlands Absent —
New Zealand Absent —
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Distribution Map (Latitude and longitude coordinates sourced from GBIF.)

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Genomes (2 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Assembly Accession Assembly Level Genome Size(Mb) Contig N50(Kb) Scaffold N50(Kb) BUSCO% Downloads Actions
GCF_013731165.1 Scaffold - - - - -
GCA_013731165.1 Scaffold 1223 23 72319 -

Transcriptomes (3 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Run ID Tissue Developmental Stage Sex Read Count Location Actions
SRR3622389 head adult male 220415 USA: Illinois, Urbana
SRR3622460 head adult female 223634 USA: Illinois, Urbana
SRR3622465 head adult male 463504 USA: Illinois, Urbana

DNA Barcodes (0 records)

View all

Data source: BOLD.

No DNA barcode records available.

Literature