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Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Pepper Maggot

Pepper maggot egg-laying stings Pepper maggot Pepper maggot damage in pepper fruit
Click to enlarge.

Beginner

Scientific Name
Zonosemata electa (Say)

Identification

  • Larvae are legless, whitish-coloured and approximately 11– 12 mm (less than 1/2 in.) long without a distinct head
  • The amber-coloured adult flies have yellow and black markings
  • Females lay eggs in small fruit, creating a small dimple as the fruit sizes
  • Larvae feed inside the fruit

Often Confused With
European corn borer

Period of Activity
Pepper maggot activity is confined to the extreme southwest of Ontario and is of concern only in some years.

Scouting Notes
The presence of adults can be monitored with yellow sticky traps baited with a vial of ammonia. Visual assessments and sweep nets are also used to monitor adult populations.

Thresholds
There is no tolerance for this pest in processing or fresh-market peppers.

Advanced

Scientific Name
Zonosemata electa (Say)

The pepper maggot is uncommon in Ontario, but occasionally infests peppers in southern Essex County.  The pepper maggot fly lays eggs in pepper fruit.  The maggot feeds within the fruit.  Besides the unwanted presence of maggots in the fruit, infested fruit are also likely to be invaded by soft rot organisms.

Identification
Larvae are whitish maggots, up to 11- 12 mm (less than 1/2 inch) long.  The fly has three bright yellow lines down its back and distinctly banded wings.

Often Confused With
European corn borer

Biology
The insect overwinters as a pupa in the soil, emerging in mid-summer to mate and lay eggs in the wall of the pepper fruit.  Eggs hatch within a week and a half.  The maggots feed within the fruit, usually on the placenta, but also on the interior of the fruit wall.  When ready to pupate, they create an exit hole in the pepper fruit and drop to the soil.  There is only one generation per year.

Period of Activity
Pepper maggot activity is confined to the extreme southwest of Ontario and is of concern only in some years.

Scouting Notes
The adults can be monitored using yellow sticky traps, baited with a vial of ammonia.  These should be hung near the field, preferably in trees at a height of 6- 8.5 m (20- 28 feet).  Fewer flies will be captured with traps placed at lower heights. 

Egg-laying stings or tunnelling in the fruit wall may be detected with careful scouting, but control is impossible once the eggs have been laid. 

Thresholds
There is no tolerance for this pest in processing or fresh-market peppers.

Management Notes

  • Control measures must target the adult fly.