Apple maggot

Rhagoletis pomonella

Fruit infested with apple maggot may be pitted and misshapen due to egg-laying. Each "sting” or hole created by the female fly as she lays an egg, forms a tiny spot or dimple. Inside the apple, small white larvae (maggots) feed on apple flesh, creating small tunnels which turn brown and rot. The adult fly is ¼ Inch long, smaller than a common housefly, with characteristic dark markings on the clear wings, a conspicuous white spot where the thorax joins the abdomen, and three (male) or four (female) white stripes on the abdomen.