Summary
Most fruit flies wait for fruit to rot, but the spotted-wing fly has a saw-like tool to cut into fresh, ripe berries and lay its eggs inside. Deep Look shows how this pest completes its life cycle right in your fruit.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
The spotted-wing fly uses a serrated egg-laying tool to slice into ripe fruit, where its eggs hatch into larvae that feed and grow. Egg, larva, pupa, adult -- the whole life cycle unfolds inside the berry.
- Where does the spotted-wing fly lay its eggs?
- What are the stages of this fly's life cycle?
- Why does laying eggs in fresh fruit help the larvae survive?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: life cycle, larva, pupa, structure.
Try it: Draw the four life-cycle stages of a fly: egg, larva, pupa, adult. Write which stage happens inside the berry.