How to detect if cherries are infested with worms before eating them?
The larvae found in cherries are just the larvae of certain flies that attack cherry trees. The laying of these flies takes place between May and July, at the time of fruit coloring. To avoid consuming a cherry infected with worms, it is important to first check its appearance to see if it contains a worm or not.
How do worms attack cherries?
Harvesting and tasting cherries can be damaged by small worms. The latter are just the larvae of two flies: one called Rhagoletis cerasi, and another, smaller one, called Drosophila suzukii or cherry fly. Between May and July, these mosquitoes fly around cherry trees and feed on their sweet secretions, especially during hours of full sun. They pierce the skin of cherries and lay their eggs there. Female Rhagoletis cerasi lay their eggs about 10 days after first fledging, especially in hot weather. Eggs are laid under the skin of red cherries. The larvae appear after 10 days and feed on the pulp of the cherries. As for female Drosophila suzuki, they lay their eggs in ripe, healthy cherries.
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Late or semi-late cherry tree varieties are the most attacked by the white larva. Early varieties, on the other hand, mature before the flies begin their first flight and remain intact .
Cherries infected with these pests rot quickly. And for good reason, when flies pierce your skin to lay their eggs, various bacteria and fungi infiltrate the skin of these fruits, which then become unfit for consumption.
Please note that while the Rhagoletis cerasi fly only attacks cherry trees, Drosophila suzukii rather targets all fruits with soft flesh. This includes cherries, but also tomatoes, strawberries, plums, grapes or raspberries.
How to recognize the presence of worms in cherries?
To know if a cherry has been infested with a worm, just check its appearance. If it is firm to the touch and smooth, without moldy areas, with a green stem, it means that the cherry is healthy. On the other hand, don’t eat cherries if they have brown spots or if they are soft or overripe.
How to prevent the appearance of worms in cherries?
To prevent the appearance of worms in cherries, it is advisable to plant early varieties such as Napoleon or pigeon hearts, so that they reach maturity, even before the first flight of the flies. Also, do not plant aromatic plants that may attract flies, such as barberries or honeysuckle, near your cherry trees .
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To avoid attracting the flies responsible for the appearance of worms, it is also important to remove all overripe fruits from your cherry tree. In winter, try to clean and dig the soil, that is, remove it, especially under the foliage of your tree, to unearth fly pupae and thus reduce the number of these that could appear in spring. . You can also install, from the beginning of April, ecological traps to get rid of these flies. To do this, install yellow adhesive panels. The fly, attracted to this color, will easily stick to this trap and leave your cherry tree alone. Note that there are also pheromone traps, which consist of glue-covered strips or small huts that enclose a pheromone capsule that diffuses through the air. This environmentally friendly trap is very effective in capturing insects that lay their eggs in fruit. Please note that fruit infected with worms should be discarded and not added to the compost, as the larvae or worms continue to grow in the fruit even when it falls to the ground.
That said, it’s important to check the appearance of the cherries before trying them. This allows you to recognize whether or not your berries have been infected by white worms.