Fruit Fly Facts
Drains should be the initial inspection site when encountering an infestation. The adults are often seen flying in areas located away from the source of infestation.
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Fruit Fly Pictures
Learn to identify this pest with these helpful pictures.
Life Span of Fruit Fly
How Long Do Fruit Flies Live?
The average natural life span of fruit fly adults in optimal temperatures is 40 to 50 days. Female fruit flies are capable of mating and laying several batches of eggs in that time, allowing the fruit fly population in a home to multiply quickly. The life span of the fruit fly is heavily influenced by temperature.
Life Cycle Fruit Fly
The fruit fly's life cycle begins when the female lays her eggs on a piece of fermenting fruit or other decaying, sweet organic material. She can lay up to 500 eggs, making it difficult to control the population. After eggs hatch into small, white larvae, they eat from their nesting site for four days, absorbing the nutrients and energy needed to transform into adults.
Larvae then locate dark, dry places for pupation. During this stage, the legless larvae grow six legs and a pair of wings before emerging as adults. Full pupation takes approximately four days. During this time, the faint outline of the transforming fly is visible through the pupa case. Following pupation, adult fruit flies are ready to mate in about two days.
Fruit fly life cycle