European Cherry Fruit Fly vs Tangle-veined Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute European Cherry Fruit Fly Tangle-veined Fly
Scientific Name Rhagoletis cerasi Nemestrina longirostris
Order Diptera Diptera
Family Tephritidae Nemestrinidae
Size 4-5 mm 15-20 mm
Habitat Orchards Heathland
Diet Omnivores Parasitoids
Regions Europe, Western Asia Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

European Cherry Fruit Fly

A small black fly with distinctive wing banding that infests sweet and sour cherries. Larvae feed inside cherries, causing them to rot and drop.

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Did You Know?

It is a textbook example of sympatric speciation, with host races on sweet and sour cherries.

Tangle-veined Fly

A fly with an extraordinarily long proboscis for feeding from deep tubular flowers.

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Did You Know?

Its proboscis can exceed its body length to reach nectar in long-tubed flowers.