Mediterranean Fruit Fly vs Glossina Austeni Tsetse Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Mediterranean Fruit Fly Glossina Austeni Tsetse Fly
Scientific Name Ceratitis capitata Glossina austeni
Order Diptera Diptera
Family Tephritidae Glossinidae
Size 4-6 mm 7-10 mm
Habitat Farmland Forests
Diet Fruit Feeders Blood Feeders
Regions Africa, Mediterranean, Americas, Australasia Coastal East Africa, from Kenya to Mozambique
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Mediterranean Fruit Fly

A small colorful fruit fly with patterned wings and a yellowish body. It is one of the world's most destructive agricultural pests, attacking over 300 fruit species.

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Did You Know?

Billions of sterile males are released annually worldwide to suppress wild populations.

Glossina Austeni Tsetse Fly

A small, dark-colored tsetse fly found in coastal forests and thickets of East Africa. It is a vector of both human and animal trypanosomiasis in coastal regions. It was successfully eradicated from the island of Unguja (Zanzibar) using the sterile insect technique in 1997.

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Did You Know?

Its eradication from Zanzibar using sterile males released from aircraft was the first successful elimination of a tsetse species from an island.