Last December and January these little flies visited our place where they sat on our Eucalyptus citriodora tree to cool down. This week we found them sitting head toward the ground on Xanthorrhoea fronds during the cooler part of the day toward evening. We found up to 7 on one grasstree. The female is larger than the male by a few mm and has a white end to her abdomen.~4-5mmFemale: www.flickr.com/photos/jean_hort/5265054506/ Male: www.flickr.com/photos/jean_hort/5403906970/ Fred had to hold the fronds to stop them swaying. Thanks Fred.
While these are quite a destructive insect, they are very pretty. "Ceratitis capitata, the Mediterranean fruit fly, or medfly for short, is a species of fruit fly capable of causing extensive damage to a wide range of fruit crops. It is native to the Mediterranean area, but has spread invasively to many parts of the world, including Australasia and North and South America.... In the United States, C. capitata has invaded four states (Hawaii, California, Texas and Florida), but has been eradicated from all but Hawaii. The medfly has been spotted in California as recently as mid September of 2009.[1] It has also been eradicated from New Zealand and Chile." Wikipedia