• Pear fruitlets with pear midge will turn black and fall from the tree
• Affected pear fruitlets initially grow faster and are softer than healthy fruitlets but during May they begin to turn black at the eye end of the fruit (opposite end to the stalk)
• The black colour spreads up the fruitlet and it drops off in June
• A high proportion of the potential crop can be lost
• Inside the damaged fruitlets are many orange white maggots, up to 4mm in length

Monitor pear fruit development for midge damage throughout spring. If the midge has been a problem in previous seasons decide if control measures are likely to be needed at the beginning of the season. When choosing control options you can minimise harm to non-target animals by using the methods in the non-pesticide section below. Pesticide treatments are likely to kill natural enemies and are only likely to be successful if the entire plant can be reached.

Non-pesticide

• Look for affected fruitlets and remove them before the larvae complete their feeding and enter the soil to pupate
• The midge larvae enter the soil when fully grown, where possible hoeing the soil around the base of the tree during dry weather in June and July, may reduce survival of the pupae
• Severity of damage varies from year to year, in some years very few pears will be affected in others a majority of the crop can be lost. It may be possible to tolerate some crop losses
• Encourage predators and other natural enemies in the garden such as birds, hedgehogs and ground beetles

Pesticides

• Organic sprays, such as natural pyrethrum (e.g. Bug Clear Ultra, Neudorff Bug Free Bug and Larvae Killer), fatty acids (e.g. Doff Greenfly & Blackfly Killer) or plant oils (e.g. Vitax Plant Guard Pest & Disease Control) have a largely physical mode of action and are broad spectrum so will kill a wide range of insects. These pesticides have a very short persistence and so may require reapplication to keep pear fruit midge numbers in check. Plant oil and fatty acid products are less likely to affect larger insects such as ladybird adults
• Further information about the use of pesticides available for management of pear midge, including more persistent contact-action insecticides, is available on the pesticides for gardeners leaflet

Download

Pesticides for gardeners (pdf document)

The adult flies are tiny midges that emerge in spring, when the females lay eggs in pear blossom shortly before it opens.

The larvae feed inside the developing fruitlets, reducing the centre to a blackish brown mush. The larvae are fully fed by late May-June, when the damaged fruitlets drop off.

The larvae enter the soil where they overwinter inside silk cocoons before pupating in the spring.