CDFA Pest Prevention Plant Regulation Practice Exam

The apple-blueberry maggot is closely related to which of these species?

1. Mexican fruit fly

2. Cherry fruit fly

3. Plum curculio

4. Codling moth

The correct answer is: Mexican fruit fly

The apple-blueberry maggot is closely related to the cherry fruit fly. This relationship is based on their shared family within the order Diptera, specifically within the family Tephritidae. Both the apple-blueberry maggot and the cherry fruit fly are fruit flies that can cause significant damage to their respective crops. They exhibit similar life cycles, behaviors, and control methods, making their relevancy in pest management quite important. The other options present species that, while significant pests, belong to different families or genera. The Mexican fruit fly, for instance, is a distinct species geographically and taxonomically from the apple-blueberry maggot. Plum curculio is a weevil, which represents a different order altogether, and the codling moth is a lepidopteran, differing significantly in its biology and behavior from the flies. These distinctions highlight the close relationship between the apple-blueberry maggot and the cherry fruit fly in terms of pest identification and management strategies.