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Photo#71454
Mexican Fruit Fly, dorsal view - Anastrepha ludens - male

Mexican Fruit Fly, dorsal view - Anastrepha ludens - Male
World Birding Center HQ at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Hidalgo County, Texas, USA
These critters show up regularly at "Josh's Diner", my butterfly bait station outside my office. They are apparently sterile flies released by the USDA; they are grown in a red-dyed medium, and when the adult flies emerge from their pupal cases, a red dot remains visible on their foreheads. My next-door neighbor, Dr. Don Vacek of the USDA, identified these flies for me and explained the system for marking the sterile flies.

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Mexican Fruit Fly, dorsal view - Anastrepha ludens - male Mexican Fruit Fly, face view 1 - Anastrepha ludens - male Mexican Fruit Fly, face view 2 - Anastrepha ludens - male Mexican Fruit Fly, side view - Anastrepha ludens - male