November 2008. A member from Andalusia, Malaga, Spain sent phoos of a mandarin with a small hole on the almost ripe fruit. White “worms” with a black dot at one end (3-6 mm long) are eating 2-3 segments of the mandarin. Control measures were requested for the next year’s crop, preferably biological remedies, rather than chemical pesticides.

It was thought that the “worms” were fruit fly larvae. They have to be reared to adulthood. Rear the larvae in
the host with sawdust at the bottom of the container. It may take about a week for them to pupate in the saw dust. Trapping the fruit fliues with a lure was also suggested.