Plum Curculio vs Queensland Fruit Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Plum Curculio Queensland Fruit Fly
Scientific Name Conotrachelus nenuphar Bactrocera tryoni
Order Coleoptera Diptera
Family Curculionidae Tephritidae
Size 4-6 mm 6-8 mm
Habitat Orchards Orchards
Diet Fruit Feeders Fruit Feeders
Regions Eastern North America from Canada to the Gulf states Australia, Pacific Islands
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Plum Curculio

A dark brown snout beetle covered in warty bumps that is a major pest of stone fruits. Females carve a crescent-shaped scar around each egg they lay in developing fruit.

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Did You Know?

The distinctive crescent-shaped scar it cuts around each egg prevents the growing fruit from crushing the larva inside.

Queensland Fruit Fly

Australia's most economically damaging fruit fly with a reddish-brown body. It attacks a wide range of cultivated fruits and vegetables.

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Did You Know?

Interstate quarantine zones in Australia exist largely to prevent its spread to fruit-growing regions.