Spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) baiting and trapping

Abstract

Spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, is a newly invasive fruit fly species that has become a serious threat to fruit crops in the USA. Using a prominent and serrated ovipositor, the female SWD pierces and inserts her eggs inside healthy ripening fruit and if management action is not taken this could lead to rapid infestation of an entire farm. SWD causes significant damage to a wide range of hosts but is especially damaging to berry crops. Using traps, some growers monitor for the presence of SWD to determine when to spray insecticides. SWD can be readily distinguished from non-SWD fruit flies by several distinctive anatomic markings. The current gold standard non-commercial bait for SWD monitoring is yeast sugar water. From a commercial perspective, the Scentry trap and lure system is the best trap for monitoring SWD in commercial fields. The objective of this study was to discover which bait was most effective in trapping SWD on a blueberry farm. The different baits tested included distilled water, apple cider vinegar (ACV), newly fermented blueberry wine made on the farm, new blueberry wine + ACV, red grape wine, red grape wine + ACV, and commercially available synthetic SWD bait (Pherocon) + ACV. This study showed new blueberry wine to be the most effective, specific, and cost effective bait for trapping SWD. New blueberry wine trapped 27.5% of all the SWD, whereas ACV only caught 4%. New blueberry wine preferentially trapped female over male SWD.