[2] Also the USDA estimates that the Mexfly causes $1.44 billion worth of damage in a 5-year time span, mostly to citrus farms.

[6] They are frequently designated as an invasive species in Southern California and Arizona and pose a serious threat to Florida's grapefruit agriculture.

[4] Most species in the Anastrepha genus including A. ludens have a distinctive yellow and brown coloration of the body and wings.

They go on to attribute this genetic diversity to natural selection across the wide habitat range of the fly and to pest management practices.

Other families of bacteria have been found in Mexican fruit flies including Vibrionaceae, Bacillaceae, Micrococcaceae, and Pseudomonadaceae.

[4] The first record of these flies spotted outside of their native habitat of Mexico and Central America was in a small Texas colony in 1903.

[12] The US Department of Agriculture presumes that these flies were introduced to the USA through the import of larvae infested fruits.

[1] The eradication of these flies from most of the US and Northern Mexico is largely due to the successful implementation of the sterile insect technique (SIT).

[4] While female and male A. ludens can live up to 11 and 16 months respectively under lab conditions, in nature their lifespans tend to be about a year.

[7] The Mexican fruit fly goes through four stages of development (holometabolism or complete metamorphosis): egg, larvae, pupa, adult.

When they have reached optimal size and environmental conditions are right, the mature larvae emerge from the fruit into the soil and begin to pupate.

While grapefruits and oranges are preferred, other citrus fruits, pears, apples, and peach are also common hosts and thus food sources.

[4] Like other fruit flies, A. ludens need to consume a mixture of amino acids, minerals, carbohydrates, water, and vitamins in order to survive.

Adult flies can get their nutrients from raindrops and bird feces, while larvae get all their resources from their host fruit.

Anastrepha ludens males follow a lek mating strategy in which they provide no parental care for offspring.

Males deposit their pheromones through their mouth and anus onto the underside of leaves, and they emit an aggressive song by quickly vibrating their wings.

[19] The main natural enemies of A. ludens are parasitoid wasps, specifically in the families Braconidae and Ichneumonidae.

[20] Diachasmimorpha longicaudata, Doryctobracon crawfordi, Ganaspis pelleranoi, Biosteres giffardi, B. vandenboschi, and Aceratoneuromyia indica have been released by the governments of the US, Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina[failed verification] and Peru to biologically control A. ludens and other Anastrepha species populations.

The USDA operates an extensive eradication and suppression campaign against the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly), which includes the use of sterile insect technique.

[6] The Texas Department of Agracalture (TDA) advises anyone with citrus trees to pick fruits before they fall to the ground to help prevent the spread of the species.