Ceratitis capitata, commonly known as the Mediterranean fruit fly or medfly, is a yellow-and-brown fly native to sub-Saharan Africa. It has no near relatives in the Western Hemisphere and is considered to be one of the most destructive fruit pests in the world. There have been occasional medfly infestations in California, Florida, and Texas that require extensive eradication efforts to prevent the fly from establishing itself in the United States. C. capitata is the most economically important fruit fly species because of both its ability to survive cooler climates more successfully than most other fly species and its ability to inhabit more than 200 tropical fruits and vegetables to which it causes severe destruction and degradation. The practices that are used to eradicate the medfly after its introduction into a new environment can be extremely difficult and expensive, but infestation of C. capitata lowers crop yields and induces costly sorting processes for fresh fruits and vegetables. Physical description Egg C. capitata eggs are characterized by their curved shape, shiny white color, and smooth features. Each egg is approximately in length. As seen in other fruit flies, the egg possess a micropylar region with a clear tubular shape. Larvae Larvae of C. capitata have been described as having a common fruit fly larval shape that is cylindrical with a narrow anterior end and flattened caudal tail. By the end of the third and final instar of the medfly, the larvae measure between and about 8 fusiform areas. Adult The adult flies typically measure in length. There are numerous visually defining characteristics of the C. capitata’s bodily features. The thorax is a creamy white to yellow with a characteristic pattern of black blotches, and the abdomen is tinted brown with fine black bristles located on the dorsal surface and two light bands on the basal half. The medfly's wings contain a band across the middle of the wing with dark streaks and spots in the middle of the wing cells. In a study done by Siomava et al., researchers utilized geometric morphometrics to analyze wing shape in three different fly species including C. capitata. Through their findings, the researchers showed that the medfly exhibits extensive sexual shape dimorphism (SShD) between the proximal and distal part of the wing. This difference can be used to distinguish between the two sexes since male wings tend to be wider and shorter in comparison to females.