Life Cycle of the Seed Corn Maggot

Eggs

• Seed corn flies lay their eggs in the soil near decaying plant matter. According to Cornell University, the eggs are white, oblong and about 1/25 of an inch in size. The eggs hatch two or three days later.

Seed Corn Maggots

• Seed corn maggots are the larval stage of the adult seed corn fly. These insects are yellowish-white in color and are about 1/4 inch long. The maggots burrow into newly sprouted seeds and destroy the leaves of seedling plants.

Pupa

• Ric Bessin, extension entomologist with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, explains that seed corn maggots morph into pupae after approximately 21 days. They spend the winter in hard brown pupal cases buried below the soil. The insects surface as adults the following spring.

Adult Seed Corn Fly

• According to Bessin, the adult seed corn fly looks like a regular housefly. It is about 1/5 inch long and grayish-brown with three stripes on its back. The flies mate, lay eggs and continue the cycle.