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Identification and Control Methods for the Onion Fly

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The onion fly Delia antigua (Meigen) belongs to the order Diptera, family Anthomyiidae. Commonly known as the onion fly, onion maggot, or garlic maggot. It is a worldwide pest, distributed throughout China. It is an omnivorous pest, capable of damaging almost all crops. In vegetable-growing areas, besides damaging spinach, onions, garlic, and cruciferous vegetables, it can also damage cucurbits, legumes, corn, tuber crops, cotton, and hemp crops. The larvae bore into the bulbs of onions, garlic, and similar plants, causing rot, yellowing and wilting of leaves, and even death of entire patches. After Chinese chives are damaged, it often causes missing plants and broken rows, and can even destroy an entire field.

The onion fly Delia antigua (Meigen) belongs to the order Diptera, family Anthomyiidae. Commonly known as the onion fly, onion maggot, or garlic maggot. It is a worldwide pest, distributed throughout China. It is an omnivorous pest, capable of damaging almost all crops. In vegetable-growing areas, besides damaging spinach, onions, garlic, and cruciferous vegetables, it can also damage cucurbits, legumes, corn, tuber crops, cotton, and hemp crops. The larvae bore into the bulbs of onions, garlic, and similar plants, causing rot, yellowing and wilting of leaves, and even death of entire patches. After Chinese chives are damaged, it often causes missing plants and broken rows, and can even destroy an entire field.

I. Morphological Identification

1. The basal bristles on the front wing of the adult are extremely short and small, less than 1/2 the length of the dorsocentral bristles behind the transverse suture. In the male fly, the narrowest part of the frontal band between the two compound eyes is narrower than the median ocellus; on the inner lower middle of the hind tibia, approximately the 1/3-1/2 portion of the total tibial length, there are sparse rows of short hairs of roughly equal length. In the female fly, there are two bristles on the upper outer side of the middle tibia. 2. Larva: the mature larva is 7 mm long, milky white with a pale yellow tinge. At the posterior end, besides a pair of obvious spiracles, 7 pairs of fleshy protuberances can be seen from the dorsal side, and none of the protuberances are forked. The seventh pair is very small, the first pair is higher than the second pair, and the sixth pair is noticeably larger than the fifth pair.

II. Occurrence Patterns

Life history and habits: In North China, 3-4 generations occur each year, overwintering as pupae in the soil or in manure piles. Adults emerge in large numbers in early May, and eggs are laid in clusters on onion leaves, bulbs, and in the topsoil around the plants at a depth of 1 cm. The egg stage lasts 3-5 days, and after hatching the larvae quickly bore into the bulbs to cause damage. The larval stage lasts 17-18 days. The mature larvae, around the damaged plants? 4 days.

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