Maggots are a nuisance, especially when they infest crops that you've devotedly nurtured and nurtured. We give you a brief overview of the most common types of maggots that hobby gardeners can find difficult.
Maggots have no limbs
Definition of maggots
First of all, a brief definition and delimitation: Only the larvae of dipterans are referred to as maggots, which include many species of flies. The following species are relevant for hobby gardeners and (partial) self-sufficient because they occur more frequently in the fruit and vegetable varieties and ornamental plants that can be cultivated in this country:
- cherry fruit fly
- walnut fruit fly
- cherry vinegar fly
- fungus gnats
cherry fruit fly
As the name suggests, the cherry fruit fly primarily attacks cherries, for example sour cherries, honeysuckle or bird cherry. She lays her eggs on the ripening fruit between May and early July. The hatching maggots feed on the pulp around the pit, causing the fruit to rot and fall off prematurely.
walnut fruit fly
The walnut fruit fly was introduced from the USA and primarily affects walnuts. Their flight and mating season extends from June to September. Mating females lay up to 15 eggs in the pericarp of a nut, on which the hatching maggots then feed and develop. The nut itself is only indirectly affected by the undersupply.
cherry vinegar fly
The spotted-wing drosophila is also a pest immigrant. It originally comes from Southeast Asia and belongs to the fruit flies. The reddish-brownish fly infests a wide range of thin-skinned fruit such as sweet cherries, peaches, plums, grapes, nectarines, figs and many types of berries. Females lay 1-3 eggs per fruit. The damage caused by the maggots is expressed in dented, soft spots on the fruit.
fungus gnats
Fungus gnats are particularly relevant for ornamental plants, especially those in indoor culture. Even with fungus gnats, the maggots actually cause damage. The small, black, delicately built mosquitoes themselves are at best annoying because they swarm when the plants are moved and when watering. The animals lay their eggs in the soil substrate; moist, humus-rich soil is favoured. The maggots that hatch eat both dead plant material and the roots of living plants. This can kill young plants in particular, such as seedlings and cuttings.