In a blueberry planting in Herkimer County six SWD were caught in four traps during the week ending June 30, 2020. No zero catch was obtained at this site. Traps were initially set on June 23. These traps are being monitored by the grower at this location.
Across New York there is only one location in the SWD Monitoring Network where SWD hasn't been caught yet, in Western, NY. Weather in Western NY has been hot. Temperatures have reached or exceeded 90° F during the past several days. Lack of rain has occurred in many areas.
Over 90° F weather doesn’t favor SWD survival. This was determined in lab assays following 24-hr-long exposure to high temperature treatments and assessing the lethal temperature for 25%, 50% and 75% of the treated SWD. I wrote a blog about this research in 2014, might be worth a look, Frozen or baked SWD?, at blogs.cornell.edu/swd1/2014/04/08/frozen-or-baked-swd/.
I would hazard a guess that the lethal effects of high temperature and an insecticide are enhanced one by the other, possibly synergistically – though this would require further research.
Mowing row middles makes a lot of sense right now – eliminate cool, shady refuges for SWD; reduce competition for water from groundcover.
Learn more about SWD. Check out the information on Cornell Fruit Resources Spotted Wing Drosophila, fruit.cornell.edu/spottedwing/.