# Maggots in watermelon **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564 "2012-09-13T02:15:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NadaHappyCamper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/278dde/32.png) [@NadaHappyCamper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NadaHappyCamper)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/1 "2012-09-13T02:15:52Z")
Today a closed conainer of watermelon peices fell out of my fridge onto the floor and spilled out,it had been in the bottom shelf for several months and as i was cleaning it up i noticed several live maggots in the mess, i have no idea how they got in there. Anyone have any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/2 "2012-09-13T02:36:03Z")
Several months? Why? (I’m feeling judgmental today, but seriously dude) ---
**Author:** ![NadaHappyCamper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/278dde/32.png) [@NadaHappyCamper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NadaHappyCamper)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/3 "2012-09-13T02:42:24Z")
Old dogs, children, and watermelon wine? ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/4 "2012-09-13T03:01:40Z")
A few years ago we purchased and brought home a box of raisens. My wife opened it an began nibbling on them. She bumped the box and it tipped over. To her disgust 20-30 maggots spilled out onto the counter. After barfing she brought the box/contents back to Safeway. The manager apologized, but said this wasn’t particularly unusual with raisens, prunes, etc. because the fruit is dried in the sun and some larvae survive the drying process and are packed with the fruit where they evenyually hatch. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/5 "2012-09-13T03:37:59Z")
_ **Awesome** _ username/OP combo! ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/6 "2012-09-13T03:40:26Z")
Could this be proof of spontaneous generation of life? [Spontaneous generation - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_generation) ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/7 "2012-09-13T11:34:49Z")
At some point, a fly landed on that watermelon and laid its eggs. That was possibly in the field, but given how thick and tough watermelon rind is, it was probably when you cut it up, exposing the soft sugary insides. Over the course of several weeks, the fly eggs hatched into larvae (maggots) which fed on the watermelon and grew. Flies are cold blooded so their development time varies dramatically with temperature. At warmer temperatures the whole life cycle is a couple weeks, but in your fridge they were just barely warm enough to survive and grow at a much slower rate. ---
**Author:** ![Bass\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@Bass\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bass_Chick)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/8 "2012-09-13T13:20:54Z")
> [@SanDiegoTim](#): > > A few years ago we purchased and brought home a box of raisens. My wife opened it an began nibbling on them. She bumped the box and it tipped over. To her disgust 20-30 maggots spilled out onto the counter. After barfing she brought the box/contents back to Safeway. The manager apologized, but said this wasn’t particularly unusual with raisens, prunes, etc. because the fruit is dried in the sun and some larvae survive the drying process and are packed with the fruit where they evenyually hatch. Yum. I had a similar experience with a Zero candy bay. I actually bit into it. ☹ It took me many years to get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/9 "2012-09-13T14:17:40Z")
> [@SanDiegoTim](#): > > A few years ago we purchased and brought home a box of raisens. My wife opened it an began nibbling on them. She bumped the box and it tipped over. To her disgust 20-30 maggots spilled out onto the counter. After barfing she brought the box/contents back to Safeway. The manager apologized, but said this wasn’t particularly unusual with raisens, prunes, etc. because the fruit is dried in the sun and some larvae survive the drying process and are packed with the fruit where they evenyually hatch. Yum. I hope he gave you back the money! I never had anything like that, and I do eat dried fruit. I had something akin to that with oatmeal - little tiny worms. YUCK. To the OP, what lazybratsche says is correct. I keep the worms for my gecko in the fridge specifically to retard their growth, so they don’t turn into beetles. ---
**Author:** ![Bass\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@Bass\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bass_Chick)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/10 "2012-09-13T16:50:32Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I keep the worms for my gecko in the fridge specifically to retard their growth, so they don’t turn into beetles. How do you deal with the icky factor? My husband wanted to put fishing bait (meal worms & night crawlers) in the refrigerator and it totally grossed me out. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/11 "2012-09-13T19:18:39Z")
> [@Bass\_Chick](#): > > How do you deal with the icky factor? My husband wanted to put fishing bait (meal worms & night crawlers) in the refrigerator and it totally grossed me out. :eek: It doesn’t bother me one bit. I mean, the container’s closed. It’s not like they’re crawling around free! And the mealworms are very dry. I mean, I hand-feed my gecko (yes, he is as spoiled as a gecko can be) so there’s that. I am not especially creeped out by bugs in general. I’m not really sure about nightcrawlers. I don’t know what they look like. Mealworms don’t look gross to me. ETA: Hahaha, I googled Nightcrawler and I got the X-man. Now that would be weird to have in my fridge. The worms are a little more gross than mealworms, but I’d probably get used to them. Consider this: in your case it’s fishing bait, meant to capture and kill an animal (I eat fish, I’m just saying). In my case it’s food for a beloved pet. I think that makes a difference, too. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/12 "2012-09-13T19:52:02Z")
We once prepared and ate what was a particularly delicious bowl of white rice. Man, it tasted so good, almost… meaty. Before our next meal we noticed a bunch of little grey bugs some dead, some moving around in the rice tin. The same rice tin we ate from the time before. We agreed never to speak of it again. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/13 "2012-09-13T19:54:02Z")
Kinthalis, m’dear, I wouldn’t worry about the rice. At least you cooked it. Just think of it as extra protein. It’s the raw eating of bugs that creeps me out. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maggots-in-watermelon/634564/14 "2012-09-14T11:21:14Z")
I drove 8 or so hours, reaching Assateague Island where we were camping for a week. Covered with DEET, I erected our tent and set up a Coleman stove. By then it was getting dark. I made some dinner in a pan and dished it out. We started to eat while I set up a lantern. Once the lantern mantles were glowing, we could see that our food contained thousands of gnats/mosquitos/etc that had been attracted to the cooking flame.