These fruit flies are closely related to the apple maggot and the blueberry maggot which attack apples and blueberries, respectively. Cherry fruit fly maggots feed on the fruit of sweet and sour cherries, pear, plum, and wild cherry. Infested fruits often appear normal until the maggots are nearly full grown.
Damage appears as sunken, shriveled areas on the surface of the nearly ripe and ripe fruit.
Fruits may be blemished by the egg laying punctures made by the female near the bottom of the fruit. On unmanaged trees, the majority of the fruit may be infested with these maggots. The adults are black flies with yellow heads and are somewhat smaller than a house fly. Between the base of the wings is a white or cream colored dot. The dark markings on the wings are used to distinguish the species.