Cabbage root fly

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Cabbage root fly
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Anthomyiidae
Genus: Delia
Species: D. radicum

The Cabbage Fly, Delia radicum, also known as the Cabbage Root Fly, is a known pest to crops[1]. The larvae of the cabbage root fly are sometimes known as the cabbage maggot. The adult flies are approximately 1 cm long and are grey in colour but otherwise resemble the common house fly.[2]

The flies can be found all over Europe.[3] After over-wintering as pupae in the soil, the flies hatch in spring, feed on nectar and lay eggs close to plants of the genus Brassica[3]. The eggs are white and about 1 milimetre in diameter.[3] They hatch into white maggots after about six days and the larvae feed for about three weeks on the roots and stems of the cabbage plants.[3] After this, the larvae are typically 0.9 to 1 cm in length and form reddish brown pupae which hatch into adult flies after around 20 days.[3] Around three generations of eggs can be laid in each year, with the generations overlapping, providing a constant presence of adult flies throughout the summer months. [3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Marks, David. Cabbage Root Fly. Garden Action. Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
  2. ^ Cabbage Root Fly. www.abdn.ac.uk. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Cabbage Root Fly. www.pan-uk.org. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
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