Videos of tiny white larvae wriggling out of strawberries soaked in salt water have spread widely across social media, alarming millions of viewers. The creatures are real — but they are not parasites. They are the larvae of a specific fruit fly species, and the biology behind the viral trick is straightforward.
In brief
- —Tiny white larvae emerge from strawberries soaked in salt water
- —They belong to the Spotted Wing Drosophila, a fruit fly
- —The larvae are described as not dangerous to humans
Spotted Wing Drosophila: the fruit fly that targets fresh, ripe berries
The larvae visible in the videos are not parasites. They are the maggots of the Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), a fruit fly species that behaves very differently from the common fruit flies found hovering over kitchen bowls.
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