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Two female SWD caught in Ulster County as reported on June 24, 2013, by Jim O’Connell, Eastern NY Horticulture Team, Cornell Cooperative Extension. One was caught in a trap placed in a blackberry plantation, the other in a trap in the adjacent woods. (Accumulated GDD 834, day length 15:09)

Imposters! The several possible spotted wing drosophila (SWD) females found in traps collected June 22-23 in St. Lawrence County, as reported on June 24, 2013, by Paul Hetzler, Cornell Cooperative Extension Association of St. Lawrence County, were SWD look-alikes.  Paul monitors a trap network mainly located in berry crops. Peter Jentsch's and Julie Carroll's programs verified the specimens were not SWD.

Compare the SWD female on the left to the look-alike female on the right. Once seen, the saw-tooth SWD ovipositor is unforgettable.

Five female and two male spotted wing drosophila (SWD) were caught in three traps the week of June 12-19, 2013, in eastern Long Island as reported by Faruque U. Zaman, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center. Two traps were in a raspberry plantation at early ripening and one trap was 75 ft. inside the adjacent wooded area. No SWD oviposition or larvae were found after checking ripe raspberry samples from the plantation. (Accumulated GDD 650, day length 15:07)

Male spotted wing drosophila (SWD) showing the characteristic spot on each wing as viewed with a dissecting microscope and transmitted illumination. Male SWD flies have two dark bands on each foreleg made up of black comb-like structures (inset).

The first SWD of the season was confirmed on June 19, 2013 by Heather Faubert, University of Rhode Island. A single male was caught in an apple cider vinegar/yeast insert dual trap set up in a cherry tree in Newport County, Rhode Island. Cherries were collected to check for oviposition. (Accumulated GDD 508, day langth 15:08)

On 17 June, 2013, 4 female and 1 male SWD were collected from two apple cider vinegar traps in Orange County, NY and identified by Peter Jentsch, entomologist, Hudson Valley Laboratory, Cornell University. The male was caught in the trap on the wooded edge, the females were caught in traps placed in a raspberry planting with fruit starting to show color. Fruit will be collected on June 21 and assessed for SWD injury level. (Accumulated GDD 640, day length 15:05)

On June 17, 2013, a single female SWD was found in the SWD trap network maintained by Mary Concklin, Extension Educator - Fruit Production & IPM, University of Connecticut. The trap was in a cherry orchard in Hartford County, CT.  Cherries had no evidence of SWD larvae.

Kat Loeck, Vegetable & Fruit Specialist, South Central NY Ag Team, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County will host a twilight meeting on Tuesday, June 18 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, at Silver Queen Farm, 5286 Stillwell Road, Trumansburg, NY, focusing on SWD. Cornell University faculty Julie Carroll, Fruit IPM Coordinator, NY State IPM Program, and Greg Loeb, Professor and Associate Chair of Entomology, will cover SWD biology and life history, SWD management, how to recognize infested fruit, how to identify SWD males, New York SWD trap network, SWD distribution map of first reports in NY, and the SWD blog to stay informed. Twilight meeting materials include:

Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) Biology and Life Cycle. June 2013.

Chemical Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in Berry Crops. May 2013. Greg Loeb, Cathy Heidenreich, Laura McDermott, Peter Jentsch, Debbie Breth, and Juliet Carroll. Cornell University. New York Berry News, Volume 12, Number 5.

Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) Crops of Concern and Wild Hosts. June 2013.

Recognize Fruit Damage from Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD). December 2010. Vaughn Walton, Jana Lee, Denny Bruck, Peter Shearer, Emily Parent, Thomas Whitney, and Amy J. Dreves. Oregon State University and USDA ARS.

Spotted Wing Drosophila Identification Guide. June 2012. Steven Van Timmeren, Katie O’Donnell, and Rufus Isaacs. Dept of Entomology, Michigan State University, Lansing.

Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) Monitoring Traps. June 2013. Juliet Carroll. NYS IPM Program, Cornell University, Geneva.

Who’s monitoring SWD in NY? May 2013. Juliet Carroll. NYS IPM Program, Cornell University, Geneva.

For pdf copies of the meeting materials, contact Julie at jec3@cornell.edu.

One female spotted wing drosophila (SWD) was caught on June 10, 2013 in Massachusetts, Hampshire County, as reported by Sonia Schloemann, UMass Extension Fruit Specialist, UMass Center for Agriculture. Read more in Massachusetts Berry Notes. A female SWD has the capacity to lay over 350 eggs during her 20- to 30-day life span. The trap was set in the unsprayed edge of a farm with multiple fruit crops, closest to the primocane raspberry field. (Accumulated GDD 515, day length 15:09)

SWD female found in MA June 10, 2013
SWD female found by Sonia Schloemann in Massachusetts; inset shows the characteristic serrated ovipositor.

The first reported SWD has been found in the NY trap network - one female in Ontario County. The trap was collected June 11, 2013 and is part of Greg Loeb's trap network. The NY trap network consists of ~230 traps. As of today, no other trap locations have caught SWD, so this find represents ~0.4% of traps catching SWD. The trap consisted of a bait cup containing whole wheat fermenting dough floating in a drowning solution of (9 parts) apple cider vinegar, (1 part) ethanol, (drop) soap in a clear deli cup. The trap was set a few feet into the wooded edge of a blueberry field. Blueberries in Western NY are starting to color - green with a hint of pink/purple. (554 accumulated GDD, day length 15:14)

Official SWD confirmed 2011 in NY
A female spotted wing drosophila (SWD), serrated ovipositor in the inset. This particular female was collected in 2011 and sent to USDA SEL for confirmation by Faruque Zaman and Dan Gilrein, Suffolk County Cornell Cooperative Extension, Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Lab. She was the first officially confirmed SWD from NY in 2011.

 

Reports have come in from Michigan State University and Rutgers University of positive SWD findings in traps set adjacent to blueberry plantings in Michigan and New Jersey, respectively.

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