It is native to South America but has been imported into the United States and elsewhere as a biological pest control agent.

Ormia depleta has four stages in its life cycle, egg, larva, pupa and adult.

The mole crickets make shallow burrows in pastures, golf courses and lawns and do considerable damage to the turf.

The program has been successful, and the flies are present all-year-round in the central and southern parts of Florida, but largely die out in winter in the northern region.

mole crickets; Larra bicolor is a parasitoid wasp native to South America, the larvae of which also feed on and kill the pest; Steinernema scapterisci is a parasitic nematode, also from South America, that kills the adult cricket by liberating bacteria that cause sepsis.