Pepper Maggot – Zonosemata electa

Pepper Maggot: Appearance, Territory, Damage and Life Cycle

Latin Name:

Zonosemata Electa

Appearance:

Male flies are around 6.5 mm in length, while females are approximately 7.5 mm. The head, belly, and legs are all light yellow in color. Bright yellow thorax with brownish stripes. A pair of little black specks can be found on the final abdominal segment. Dark stripes run down the translucent wings, making a ‘V’ shape near the wing tips. Green is the color of the eyes. Larvae reach a maximum length of about 12 mm and are shaped similar to a house fly larva, with a cylindrical body.  

Host Plant:

Pepper maggots feed on the core of their host fruit for a period of about 16 days. Cherry peppers, which are the preferred pepper for pepper maggot flies, can be planted in border rows as indicator plants. The egg-laying stings appear as depressions or scars on these little, spherical fruits, and they’re simple to spot. Around the edge of the crop, plant one row of cherry peppers. The maggot flies prefer these peppers to the delicious bells.

Territory:

The pepper maggot is endemic to eastern North America, where it is considered to have spread from the weedy perennial horse nettle, Solanium carolinense L., to cultivated crops such as the bell pepper. The presence of pepper maggots in pepper is spotty and irregular. Pepper maggot has traditionally been a pest in southern New England, including Connecticut, southeastern Massachusetts, and a few isolated sites further north. It is sometimes a farm-by-farm or field-by-field occurrence with no apparent rationale for high or low numbers in each location.

Damage Caused:

Pepper and eggplant are among the crops that have been damaged. Tomatoes can be harmed, although this is uncommon. Oviposition occurs on tiny fruits, often measuring 1-3 cm in diameter. As the fruit matures, the region around the oviposition site produces a shallow indentation. Larvae feed on the interior of the fruit, with one larva per fruit in peppers, but multiple in eggplant fruits. Because flies deposit their eggs directly on pepper berries, the harm is typically undetectable until it’s too late.

Life Cycle and habits:

Each year, a new generation of pepper maggots emerges. In June and July, females emerge, mate, and deposit eggs (possibly a little earlier in Georgia). Eggs are inserted into the flesh of fruits. A thorough study of the oviposition slit may reveal the egg’s stalk. In 8-10 days, the eggs will hatch. The larvae eat for about 18 days within the fruit, then escape, fall to the earth, and pupate, generally in the top 5- 10 cm of soil. From late summer or fall until the next summer, the puparium is active. The larval stages of this insect are known to appear between June and September each year. In Georgia, this is considered a minor pest, however it has been reported on peppers.