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How does this fly scare predators?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

April 2, 2003

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Suggested Reading—>Click here.

Assorted Killer Savings Garden Links—>Click here.

Ladd Apple Maggot Fly Trap & Lure, Codling Moth Trap, Fruit Trees Alive! Combo—>Click here.

Apple Tree, Sweet Sixteen, Sundance Apple Tree, 4-in-1 Apple Tree—>Click here.

The railroad worm (Rhagoletis pomonella Walsh) is tiny and legless. Its head is the pointed end with a pair of dark colored hooks it uses to tear at the flesh of fruit. Railroad worms are maggots, the larval stage of a fly. The larvae tunnel though apples (Malus species and hybrids), ruining the fruit and leaving a brownish stain that looks like miniature railroad tracks.

Before European colonists introduced domesticated apples to North America, railroad worms, also called apple maggots, used wild varieties of plants in the Rosaceae especially hawthorns (Crataegus species) and wild crabapples. The colonists' large-fruited apples immediately attracted the flies--orchards were big nurseries where female flies could leave thousands of eggs.

A Daring Jumping Spider,
Phidippus Species,
Feeding on a Digger Bee
George Grall
Buy Photographic Print at AllPosters.com

Railroad worms lead a sheltered life, protected from predators. The female fly pierces the skin of a developing apple with her needle-like ovipositor and lays an egg. Large apples are pierced many times to leave many eggs. The apple fruit develops, but is deformed with 'dimples' and rotted spots; it will drop from the tree prematurely (before ripening). The maggots leave the rotting apple and enter the soil to pupate.

In the spring, the maggots emerge transformed into flies about the size of a housefly. They have transparent wings with black patterns and black and white bodies. The fly stage is defenseless, only capable of fleeing from predators like spiders and wasps. It is vulnerable except for its black and white coloring.

At rest on a leaf or twig, the fly's wings are held flat over its back. The outlines of the wings are not seen since they are transparent, but the black patterns on the wings are highly visible against any green or brown surface. Wasps and other predators avoid the resting fly. The fly's pattern mimics the large front legs and palpi (leg-like appendages) of one of the most ferocious predators of insects, the jumping spiders (Phidippus species and other Salticidae).

The Florida Museum of Entomology has a photograph of the adult stage of the railroad worm. To view a photograph of this 'spider mimic' and learn more about this pest, click on the link:

Click here to view a photograph of this 'spider mimic'

The Department of Entomology and Nematology with the University of Florida has photographs and more information on the regal jumping spider, Phidippus regius. To view the photograph, click on the link:

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/regal_jumping_spider.htm

Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images.

David Edwin Hill has put together a wonderful site about the Salticids, the jumping spiders, and he has numerous interesting links. These ferocious spiders are gardeners' friends, but Hill's site may not please arachnophobes. To learn more about the cool jumping spiders, click on the link:

http://www.users.qwest.net/~phidippus/

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Unique Professionally Designed Gardens

Springhill Nursery®

Spring Hill Nursery has unique gardens professionally designed by experts to take the guesswork out of gardening. Whether you are looking for a three season garden, foundation garden, or a garden to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, Spring Hill Nursery has created a step-by-step design just for you. Click here - $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery!

Ladd Apple Maggot Fly Trap and Lure

Gardens Alive!®

Controls apple maggot flies better than any other trap sold!

Give apple maggots the one-two punch with our Ladd Apple Maggot Fly Trap and Lure! Hang out the trap with lure early in the season to attract the adult flies. One whiff of the irresistible, apple-scented volatiles and flies will head straight for the bait - conveniently located on a sticky trap from which they won't escape!

The unique trap combines a traditional red sphere with a yellow rectangular (8" x 11") trap to provide a much larger surface area for the catch.

In field tests, the Ladd Trap & Lure caught more than four times as many adult maggot flies on average as typical red sticky spheres baited with lure.

To use, coat both the red sphere and yellow rectangle with Tangle-Trap (sold separately), then apply the lure to the sticky yellow surface. About five weeks after petal fall, hang one trap with lure on each dwarf or semi-dwarf apple, pear or plum tree; six traps with lures on each standard tree. Replace lures every 3-4 weeks. Reuse traps year after year. Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive!

Codling Moth Trap

Gardens Alive!®

Prevents worm damage to fruit crops

Codling moths are among the worst enemies of apples, peaches, pears, crab apples and English walnuts. The larvae bore into the center of the fruit to feed on the seeds.

Damage can be extensive, often involving all fruit on the tree, and control is complicated because the pest produces two generations each year.

Our traps produce excellent results. A unique technology releases the pheromone scent continuously, in tiny amounts, for up to eight weeks.

For best results, set out traps two weeks before bud break. Use two traps per mature full-size tree, one for a dwarf tree. Replace lure after eight weeks. If crop damage has already begun, traps may reduce the second generation, but additional control methods will be needed. Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive!

Fruit Trees Alive! Combo

Gardens Alive!®

Signature Product. Fruit Trees Alive! has been specially formulated to meet the growth demands of apples, peaches and most other fruit trees. Eleven macro- and micronutrients are in the mix, including copper and sulfur, which produce the delicious sweetness so characteristic of well-grown tree-ripened fruit. Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive!

Build-Up Formula For small, newly planted trees, scatter about two cups around the trunk; for larger new trees, apply at the rate of 10 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. For severely depleted soils, apply in the second year at the rate of 5 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. in spring and again in midsummer. Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive!

Maintenance Formula After using our Build-Up Formula for one year, switch to this Maintenance Formula (unless your soil is poor). For best results, use 5 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. in spring and again in midsummer. Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive!

Fruit Trees Alive! was designed for medium to heavy soils with average fertility. On sandy soils, or for the tree's first year of growth, use our Build-Up Formula, which contains extra micronutrients. Then follow up annually with Maintenance Formula to replace nutrients used for growth and production.

Apple Tree, Sweet Sixteen

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Remarkable Flavor and Crunch

Gurney's Choice One of the best for fresh-off-the-tree eating. Sweet Sixteen is super sweet with a richly complex flavor-similar to vanilla with just a hint of molasses and fine bourbon. A taste treat like no other!

Extra hardy and long lived even in harsh conditions. Ripens mid-Sept.

Zones: 3 - 6 (-30° F.)

This Item Ships In The Spring. Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more of perennials at Gurneys.com! Fruit Trees & Nut Trees For Sale

Comments: Red striped, conical fruit. Aromatic firm crisp cream colored flesh. Spreading, vigorous habit. Dependable bearer. Hardy to -50 degrees F.

Sundance Apple Tree

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

One of the Most Exciting Apples in Years!

Gurney's Choice "Popping" crisp--one of the finest apples we've ever tasted. Unique, refreshing, sweet-lemon flavor!

Excellent resistance to scab and cedar apple rust.

Matures late September.

Zones: 5 - 8 (-10° F.);

This Item Ships In The Spring. Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more of perennials at Gurneys.com! Fruit Trees & Nut Trees For Sale

Comments: The only scab immune, yellow variety that had legitimate resistance to cedar rust. From the Purdue breeding program. High sugar content. Very high fruit quality. Fruit does not drop prematurely. Sundance apples are sweet with a slight pineapple-like flavor.

4-in-1 Apple Tree

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Four Different Apples

Four different apple varieties al on the same tree. The varieties pollinate each other for top crops, then ripen at different times to extend the harvest.

Best of all, you only have to care for one tree- ideal when space is limited.

Zones 4-8

This Item Ships In The Spring. Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more of perennials at Gurneys.com! Fruit Trees & Nut Trees For Sale