The Mediterranean fruit fly, one of the most destructive pests of deciduous fruits like pears, stone fruits, and apples. Its larvae also eat vegetables and nuts. Yellow-brown with reddish purple eyes. Chemical sprays do not control them effectively because of the brief time it takes the adult to lay eggs below the surface of the offspring's future food source. Braconid wasps and other parasites seem to do a more thorough job (see Biocontrol).