Common Ragweed Fruit Fly

Euaresta bella · Order: Diptera · Family: Tephritidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Common Ragweed Fruit Fly
Photo: Julia Beach, CC BY

The larvae of the Common Ragweed Fruit Fly feed exclusively on the plant Ambrosia artemisiifolia. This species produces one generation each year.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae eat only Ambrosia artemisiifolia.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

There is a single generation annually.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 36 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Vermont.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Common Ragweed Fruit Fly photo 2
Photo: Justin Williams, CC BY
Common Ragweed Fruit Fly photo 3
Photo: Zeke Blankenship, CC BY
Common Ragweed Fruit Fly photo 4
Photo: Benjamin Burgunder, CC BY
Common Ragweed Fruit Fly photo 5
Photo: Marilynn Miller, CC BY

Questions people ask

What do the larvae of Euaresta bella eat?

The larvae feed only on Ambrosia artemisiifolia.

Source: Wikipedia

How many generations does the Common Ragweed Fruit Fly have each year?

It has one generation per year.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Tephritidae)

Goldenrod Gall FlyGoldenrod Gall FlyEurosta solidaginisThistle Stem Gall FlyThistle Stem Gall FlyUrophora carduiGoldenrod Brussels Sprout Gall FlyGoldenrod Brussels Sprout Gall FlyProcecidochares atraMediterranean Fruit FlyMediterranean Fruit FlyCeratitis capitataDamages trees, gardens or cropsCotton-gall TephritidCotton-gall TephritidAciurina bigeloviaeOriental Fruit FlyOriental Fruit FlyBactrocera dorsalisDamages trees, gardens or crops

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euaresta_bella

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.