Fuit flies are a really very known worldwide pest (e.g. cherries), but many species have been established and act as reliable and successful biological control agents in many areas in the USA and Canada, e.g. Urophora cardui (L.) for the control of C. arvense, U. stylata (F.) substantially reduced seed production of C. vulgare (White 1988).
Larvae of fruit flies are not the most effective pre-dispersal predators. Their larvae attack only seeds as Tortricidae, but theirs prevalence (percentage of infested hosts in population) is distinctly higher than by weevils.
Tephritids are the dominant seed predators of Carduoideae.
We have already studied these species:
Urophora (s.str.) affinis (Frauenfeld, 1857)
Urophora (s.str.) aprica (Fallén, 1820)
Urophora (s.str.) cardui (Linnaeus, 1758)
Urophora (s.str.) congrua Loew, 1862
Urophora (s.str.) cuspidata (Meigen, 1826)
Urophora (s.str.) jaceana (Hering, 1935)
Urophora (s.str.) lopholomae White & Korneyev, 1989
Urophora (s.str.) quadrifasciata (Meigen, 1826)
Urophora (s.str.) solsititialis (Linneaus, 1758)
Urophora (s.str.) spoliata (Haliday, 1838)
Urophora (s.str.) stylata (Fabricius, 1775)
Urophora (s.str.) terebrans (Loew, 1850)
Acanthiophilus helianthi (Rossi, 1790)
Acinia corniculata (Zetterstedt, 1819)
Heringina guttata (Fallén, 1814)
Tephritis acanthiophilopsis Hering, 1944
Tephritis bardanae (Schrank, 1803)
Tephritis hyoscyami (Linneaus, 1758)
Tephritis postica (Loew, 1844)
Trupanea amoena (Frauenfeld, 1857)
Trupanea stellata (Fuessly, 1775)
Xyphosia (Trichoxyphosia) laticauda (Meigen, 1826)
Xyphosia (s.str.) miliaria (Schrank, 1781)
Chaetorellia acrolophi White & Marquart, 1989
Chaetorellia jaceae (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830)
Chaetorellia loricata (Rondani, 1870)
Chaetostomella cylindrica (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830)
Terellia (Cerajocera) ceratocera (Hendel, 1913)
Terellia (Cerajocera) lappae (Cederhjelm, 1798)
Terellia (Cerajocera) plagiata (Dahlbohm, 1850)
Terellia (Cerajocera) setifera Hendel, 1927
Terellia (Cerajocera) tussilaginis (Fabricius, 1775)
Terellia (s.str.) colon (Meigen, 1826)
Terellia (s.str.) longicauda (Meigen, 1830)
Terellia (s.str.) ruficauda (Fabricius, 1794)
Terellia (s.str.) serratulae (Linneaus, 1758)
Terellia (s.str.) virens (Loew, 1846)
Terellia (s.str.) winthemi (Meigen 1826)