Vonny M. Barlow, Graduate Research Associate, Virginia Tech
Tom Kuhar, Assistant Professor of Entomology, Virginia Tech
Introduction
The pepper maggot, Zonosemata electa (Say) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is native to eastern North America and is thought to have moved from the weedy perennial horse nettle, Solanium carolinense L., to domesticated crops like the bell pepper. Pepper maggot occurrence in pepper is patchy and sporadic. However, infestation can reach 100 percent of the fruit with only a single maggot causing the destruction of an entire pepper fruit.