Melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae Coquillett is a serious pest of cucurbitaceous vegetables, affecting fruit quality, often causing great economic loss. Biological control of melon flies using entomopathogenic fungi is an ideal option since the vegetables are consumed fresh. For the screening of the entomopathogenic fungi against melon fly, continuous availability of different life stages of the insect is necessary. The present study was undertaken to evaluate dietary constituents comprising of honey, sucrose, jaggery, sugar and water in combination with yeast for the in vitro rearing of the melon fly. Among the different diets, bait preparation in 100 ml water containing 20g jaggery and 10g yeast supported the maximum survival percentage (98.14) of adult melon flies. Hence, jaggery + yeast diet was standardized as a suitable diet for the laboratory rearing of melon fly.