''Strauzia longipennis'' is a large species of
tephritid fruit fly known by the common name sunflower maggot. It is a minor pest whose larvae mine stems of
sunflower
The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...
s (
Helianthus
''Helianthus'' () is a genus comprising around 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of ''Helianthus'' are native to ...
spp.). Damage from larval feeding on spongy tissue is usually light. The larvae do not damage the flower head or seeds, although those of other fruit fly species do so.
Adults are about 6 mm long and a wing length of approximately 7 mm. (reasonably large for a Tephritid) The body is yellow to orange and the wing has orange to brown bands, usually forming a distinct F-shaped marking near the wing tip.
[Foote et al. 1993] The
larva
A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
e are yellowish-white in color reaching a length of about 5 mm and spend around 30 days feeding within the host plant before overwintering in the base of the plant or soil as
pupa
A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...
e. Adults are found from May to August depending on location.
There are two other species of Tephritid fly species known as Sunflower Maggot, these are ''
Gymnocarena diffusa'' which feeds in the flower head and ''
Neotephritis finalis'', the sunflower seed maggot, which feeds on the developing sunflower seeds.
References
Foote, R. H., F. L. Blanc & A. L. Norrbom. 1993. Handbook of the fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) of America north of Mexico. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca. xii + 571 p.
External links
Cirrus Image Site on Sunflower Maggot Flies
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7622341
longipennis
Agricultural pest insects
Insects described in 1830