The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typically its form is adapted to functions such as preparing a place for the egg, transmitting the egg, and then placing it properly. For insects, the organ is used merely to attach the egg to some surface, but for many parasitic species, it is a piercing organ as well.
The apple maggot, also known as the railroad worm, is a species of fruit fly, and a pest of several types of fruits, mainly apples. This species evolved about 150 years ago through a sympatric shift from the native host hawthorn to the domesticated apple species Malus domestica in the northeastern United States. This fly is believed to have been accidentally spread to the western United States from the endemic eastern United States region through contaminated apples at multiple points throughout the 20th century. The apple maggot uses Batesian mimicry as a method of defense, with coloration resembling that of the forelegs and pedipalps of a jumping spider.
The Drosophilidae are a diverse, cosmopolitan family of flies, which includes fruit flies. Another unrelated family of flies, Tephritidae, also includes species known as "small fruit flies". The best known species of the Drosophilidae is Drosophila melanogaster, within the genus Drosophila, and this species is used extensively for studies concerning genetics, development, physiology, ecology and behaviour. This fruit fly is mostly composed of post-mitotic cells, has a very short lifespan, and shows gradual aging. As in other species, temperature influences the life history of the animal. Several genes have been identified that can be manipulated to extend the lifespan of these insects. Additionally, Drosophila subobscura, also within the genus Drosophila, has been reputed as a model organism for evolutionary-biological studies.
The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include the biological model organisms of the genus Drosophila, which is often called the "common fruit fly". Nearly 5,000 described species of tephritid fruit fly are categorized in almost 500 genera of the Tephritidae. Description, recategorization, and genetic analyses are constantly changing the taxonomy of this family. To distinguish them from the Drosophilidae, the Tephritidae are sometimes called peacock flies, in reference to their elaborate and colorful markings. The name comes from the Greek τεφρος, tephros, meaning "ash grey". They are found in all the biogeographic realms.
The Queensland fruit fly is a species of fly in the family Tephritidae in the insect order Diptera. B. tyroni is native to subtropical coastal Queensland and northern New South Wales. They are active during the day, but mate at night. B. tyroni lay their eggs in fruit. The larvae then hatch and proceed to consume the fruit, causing the fruit to decay and drop prematurely. B. tyroni are responsible for an estimated $28.5 million a year in damage to Australian crops and are the most costly horticultural pest in Australia. Up to 100% of exposed fruit can be destroyed due to an infestation of this fly species. Previously, pesticides were used to eliminate B. tyroni from damaging crops. However, these chemicals are now banned. Thus, experts devoted to B. tyroni control have transitioned to studying this pests' behaviors to determine a new method of elimination.
The Dacinae are a subfamily of the fruit fly family Tephritidae. Its 41 genera are distributed among three tribes:
Bactrocera dorsalis, previously known as Dacus dorsalis and commonly referred to as the oriental fruit fly, is a species of tephritid fruit fly that is endemic to Southeast Asia. It is one of the major pest species in the genus Bactrocera with a broad host range of cultivated and wild fruits. Male B. dorsalis respond strongly to methyl eugenol, which is used to monitor and estimate populations, as well as to annihilate males as a form of pest control. They are also important pollinators and visitors of wild orchids, Bulbophyllum cheiri and Bulbophyllum vinaceum in Southeast Asia, which lure the flies using methyl eugenol.
Rhagoletis cerasi is a species of fruit fly in the family Tephritidae.
The melon fly(Bactrocera cucurbitae) is a fruit fly of the family Tephritidae. It is a serious agricultural pest, particularly in Hawaii.
Tephritis is a genus of flies. It contains around 170 described species, making it the sixth largest genus in the family Tephritidae. Many more undescribed species are known from specimen collections. Tephritis occur throughout much of the world, but most are Palearctic. They can be found in a wide range of climate types, from hot semidesert to tundra. Most species inhabit the inflorescences of plants from several tribes in the family Asteraceae, and a few species cause galls to form.
Terellia is a genus of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae.
Themara is a genus of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae. Many species have the head elongated sideways with the eyes placed on the extensions. Their biology is largely unknown but are thought to breed on rotting wooden logs or tree trunks.
Urophora is a genus of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae.
Rioxa is a genus of tephritid in the family Tephritidae. The genera Rioxa and related Hexacinia and Cribrorioxa are distributed in South and Southeast Asia from India and Sri Lanka in the west to the Philippines. Only a few species extend east of Borneo to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago. Rioxa breeds on fallen logs inside forests.
Rhagoletis juglandis, also known as the walnut husk fly, is a species of tephritid or fruit fly in the family Tephritidae. It is closely related to the walnut husk maggot Rhagoletis suavis. This species of fly belongs to the R. suavis group, which has a natural history consistent with allopatric speciation. The flies belonging to this group are morphologically distinguishable.
Anoplomus cassandra is a species of tephritid or fruit flies in the genus Anoplomus of the family Tephritidae.
The Mexican fruit fly also known as Anastrepha ludens and the Mexfly is a species of fly of the Anastrepha genus in the Tephritidae family. It is closely related to the Caribbean fruit fly Anastrepha suspensa, and the papaya fruit fly Anastrepha curvicauda.
Euphranta is a genus of fruit flies in the family Tephritidae. There are at least 90 described species in Euphranta.
Anastrepha suspensa, known as the Caribbean fruit fly, the Greater Antillean fruit fly, guava fruit fly, or the Caribfly, is a species of tephritid fruit fly. As the names suggest, these flies feed on and develop in a variety of fruits, primarily in the Caribbean. They mainly infest mature to overripe fruits. While thought to have originated in Cuba, the Caribbean fruit fly can now also be found in Florida, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico.
Strychnos nux-blanda is a shrub or small tree in the Loganiaceae family. It is native to Southeast Asia and Assam. The wood is used as fuel; seeds are toxic, but used in folk-medicine. It is one of the plants featured in the garden of King Narai (1633–88) at Lopburi, Thailand.
