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Identification
Small black fly with banded wings; white legless larvae found inside ripening blueberries.
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Life Cycle
Adults emerge in early summer, lay eggs under fruit skin; larvae develop inside berries then drop to soil to pupate and overwinter.
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Damage Signs
Larvae feed inside fruit, causing soft, collapsed berries unfit for harvest; infestation often invisible until fruit is cut open.
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Treatment
Use sticky traps to monitor and mass-trap adults. Apply spinosad-based sprays timed to adult emergence. Remove and destroy infested fruit.
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Prevention
Rake and dispose of fallen fruit and mulch beneath bushes to disrupt pupae overwintering in soil.