Diptera: Tephritidae
Issue No. 91
H. V. Weems, Jr.
December, 1969
Introduction
The “dark fruit fly” is intercepted frequently in United States ports of entry in various hosts from several countries. It is an important species in Mexico because its larvae infest sapote (Calocarpum spp.), sapodilla (Achras zapota), willowleaf lucuma (Lucuma salicifolia) and related fruits. Infestations in tree-ripe fruits frequently are so high that in parts of the country where these fruits are grown, especially in Veracruz, the growers do not permit them to mature on the trees, but pick them green and ripen them artificially to avoid infestation. Fruits so ripened, however, are inferior to tree-ripened fruits. Large numbers of adults have been trapped in the Rio Grande valley of Texas, but except for one record from grapefruit, no infestation of the species has been found in Texas and the appearance and disappearance of such large adult populations there remains unexplained. Anastrepha serpentina possibly could become a serious pest of tropical fruits in southern Florida if it were introduced into that area.