Fruit Flies

Fruit Flies

Fruit Flies are tiny (3mm) brownish or yellowish, red-eyed flies, which are attracted to fermenting fruit and alcoholic drinks. They comprise a large, cosmopolitan family, Drosophilidae, and many species are common; the genus Drosophila contains some 1,000 species.

They can be a minor pest in orchards or where fruit is stored, particularly in warmer countries. Most feed as larvae on or in decaying fruit and vegetation.

During the summer months they can enter houses and they fly with a hovering ponderous flight. 

The best way to control them is to ensure that fruit is not allowed to rot and that spillages of drinks etc are cleaned rapidly.