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How to Manage Pests
UC Pest Management Guidelines
Turfgrass
Australian Sod Fly
Scientific Name: Inopus rubriceps
(Reviewed 6/03,
updated 6/03)
In this Guideline:
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DESCRIPTION OF THE PEST
In California, the Australian sod fly is occasionally found only in the San
Francisco Bay Area. Adult male flies are 0.25 inch (6 mm) long and black with
yellowish legs. Females are 0.4 inch (9.5 mm) long, black, with reddish legs
and a red head. Adults may be active in May, but their major period of activity
is from September through November. Eggs are laid in the soil. After hatching,
larvae may take 2 years to complete development. Fully grown larvae are 0.5
inch (1.3 cm) long maggots with flattened, distinctly segmented bodies that are
light tan with a coarsely granular surface. There are six long, stiff bristles
per segment, no legs, and a distinct, conical black head capsule. The flattened
and distinctly segmented body of the sod fly larvae easily distinguishes this
species from other maggots, such as the march fly, that occur in turf but
mostly feed on decaying organic matter.
SUSCEPTIBLE SPECIES
All turf species.
DAMAGE
Australian sod fly larvae feed on sap from the roots of grasses. As a result of
their feeding, grass declines and is replaced over time with broadleaf weeds.
MANAGEMENT
There are no known biological or cultural controls and no registered chemical
controls.
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UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines: Turfgrass
UC ANR Publication 3365-T
Insects and Mites
H. S. Costa, Entomology, UC Riverside
R. S. Cowles, Entomology, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Windsor, CT
M. A. Harivandi, UC Cooperative Extension, Alameda Co.
J. Hartin, UC Cooperative Extension, San Bernardino Co.
H. K. Kaya, Nematology, UC Davis
Acknowledgment for contributions to the insect and mite section:
K. Kido, Entomology, UC Riverside
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