Lookalikes
for Fruit Fly
The main naming trap is the gap between these small vinegar flies (family Drosophilidae) and the true fruit flies (family Tephritidae): vinegar flies mostly leave sound fruit alone, while true fruit flies have larvae that feed inside undamaged fruit and run larger, near 1/4 inch (6 mm) versus 2 to 3 mm. Source: https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/PESTS/fruitflies.html Also worth ruling out is the spotted wing drosophila (*Drosophila suzukii*), a vinegar fly first detected in California in 2008 and now widespread; unlike its relatives, its females lay eggs in ripe, undamaged fruit rather than only in rotting material. Source: https://entomology.ces.ncsu.edu/spotted-wing-drosophila-biology/