Selective avoidance by vertebrate frugivores of green holly berries infested with a cecidomyiid fly (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)

Green fruits of Ilex opaca infested with larvae of holly berry midge Asphondylia ilicicola were eaten less during winter and spring than uninfested red fruits. Fly larvae, and their associated fungus, interact with berry physiology to prevent the fruit from changing color, thereby protecting the larvae from frugivory until spring when the midge emerges and starts the cycle again by laying eggs in holly flowers. -from Authors