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National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Terrestrial Invasives
  3. Terrestrial Invertebrates
  4. European Cherry Fruit Fly

European Cherry Fruit Fly

Scientific Name

Rhagoletis cerasi L. (ITIS)

Common Name

European cherry fruit fly (ECFF)

Native To

Europe (Schuler et al. 2013)

Date of U.S. Introduction

First detected in New York in 2017 (Wakie et al. 2018)

Means of Introduction

Most likely through the movement of infested fruit (APHIS 2017)

Impact

Highly destructive pest of cherries (Prunus spp.) (Wakie et al. 2018)

European cherry fruit fly

European cherry fruit fly

Credit

Photo by Ben Hamers; Holland (Diptera.info)

Source
Diptera.info

Spotlights

  • APHIS Expands the European Cherry Fruit Fly (Rhagoletis cerasi) Quarantine to include all of Monroe and Wayne Counties, New York

    • May 28, 2021

    • USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    • Effective May 11, 2021, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYS AGM) expanded the European cherry fruit fly (ECFF) quarantine to include all of Monroe County and Wayne County and a small portion of northwestern Ontario County, New York. With this expansion, the ECFF quarantine now includes all of Erie, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, and Wayne Counties. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of ECFF to non-infested areas of the United States, while maintaining commercial cherry production and marketing within the state. The APHIS website reflects the expansion of this quarantine and contains a description of all the current federal fruit fly quarantine areas.

  • USDA Warns Dangerous Pests are Emerging, Adds Cherry Fruit Fly to Alert List

    • Apr 2, 2018

    • USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    • April is “Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month”

      Hungry Pests are invasive species that disrupt ecosystems, threatening to push out and eliminate native species. The European cherry fruit fly, the newest pest added to the group, attacks cherries. This pest was detected in the United States for the first time when fruit flies were caught in traps along the Niagara River in New York last year. If left unchecked, this pest could threaten cherry production in the United States. It can be introduced to new places through the movement of soil or infested fruit from areas where the pest occurs.

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Federally Regulated

  • Domestic Quarantine Notices (Title 7: Agriculture, Part 301) - Fruit Flies

    • U.S. Government Printing Office. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations.

  • Fruit Flies Quarantine Information

    • USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    • Includes information for Mexican Fruit Fly, Mediterranean Fruit Fly, and Oriental Fruit Fly

  • Hungry Pests - Pest Tracker

    • USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    • See what states have a federal quarantine for any of the targeted Hungry Pests, and identify which pests or diseases are at greatest risk due to a suitable habitat. In addition to federal quarantines, state-level quarantines might apply see State Summaries of Plant Protection Laws and Regulations (National Plant Board).

      See also: The Threat for an overview of the top invasive pest threats; indicates places with Federal Quarantines in place.

  • Import Federal Orders

    • USDA. APHIS. Plant Protection and Quarantine.

    • A Federal Order is a legal document issued in response to an emergency when the Administrator of APHIS considers it necessary to take regulatory action to protect agriculture or prevent the entry and establishment into the United States of a pest or disease. Federal Orders are effective immediately and contain the specific regulatory requirements.

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

View All European Cherry Fruit Fly Resources
Partnership
Federal Government
International Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Citations