Invasive-displacement
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Rhagoletis mendax
blueberry maggot, blueberry maggot fly
Rhagoletis mendax, commonly known as the blueberry maggot, is a tephritid fruit fly native to eastern North America and a major pest of cultivated and wild blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) and related Ericaceae. The species completes a univoltine life cycle in most regions, with adults emerging in spring or summer to oviposit in ripening berries; larvae feed internally, destroying fruit marketability. It is closely related to the apple maggot (R. pomonella), with which it is reproductively isolated primarily through host-specific chemical cues despite morphological similarity and laboratory interfertility. Management relies on degree-day predictive models, monitoring with baited sticky traps, and targeted insecticide applications.