Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Mediterranean fruit fly
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
Mediterranean fruit fly Mediterranean fruit fly Black and white illustrations show six insect pests: boll weevil, European corn borer, Hessian fly, and spotted alfalfa aphid as pests of farm crops; western pine beetle and Mediterranean fruit fly as pests of forests and orchards.
Quizzes
wasp. Vespid Wasp (Vespidaea) with antennas and compound eyes drink nectar from a cherry. Hornets largest eusocial wasps, stinging insect in the order Hymenoptera, related to bees. Pollination
Know Your Bugs Quiz
Quick Facts
Also called:
med fly
See all related content
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Mediterranean fruit fly
Mediterranean fruit fly An adult Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) sitting on a leaf.

Mediterranean fruit fly

insect
Also known as: Ceratitis capitata, Med fly
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History
Taxonomy

See also list of flies

Mediterranean fruit fly, (Ceratitis capitata), species of fruit fly native to Europe and Africa that is a particularly destructive and costly insect pest. The Mediterranean fruit fly lays as many as 500 eggs in citrus fruits (except lemons and sour limes). The larvae tunnel into the flesh of the fruit and make it unfit for human consumption. Discovered in Florida in 1929, the Mediterranean fruit fly was thought to have been eradicated in the United States by 1930 but reappeared in 1956 and in the early 1960s and again, in California, in the 1980s. It has also become established in Hawaii. Because of this pest, worldwide quarantine laws were formed to regulate the entry of fruits into countries.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.