Spotted Wing Drosophila: First adult capture in NY

The first female SWD adult trap capture was reported by the Loeb Lab in Geneva last Friday, June 19th, from a site in the Finger Lakes, along the edge of a summer raspberry planting in Schuyler County, NY. The fly was found in a commercially available Sentry lure in a research plot where trials are testing 6 different trap designs, of various traps styles, size, shape and colors, along with lure attractants compared to control standard used last season.

The Hudson Valley Research Lab is participating in the study with Greg Loeb of trap comparisons in two Hudson Valley sites in Warwick, in Orange County and Milton, in Ulster County. Faruque Zaman, in Suffolk County, is coordinating trap efforts in Eastern Long Island grape, small and stone fruit plantings.

Over the past two weeks we have have been monitoring traps and fruit at the HVRL in stone fruit, grape, raspberry and wild host tap sites, collecting fruit from both wild hosts such as Tartarian Honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica and June bearing raspberry and blackberry.

To date we have not observed SWD eggs in fruit or adult in traps in the Hudson Valley. Coordinated efforts in the mid-Hudson Valley with CCE specialists will provide monitoring coverage from southern Orange County (Warwick) to the Lake Champlain region, primarily in the most susceptible commodities of stone fruit, small fruit and grape. Juliet Carrol, IPM coordinator, will provide state-wide mapping efforts for SWD using Eastern Spotted Wing Drosophila Volunteer Monitoring Network (SWD*VMN).

Sixteen cooperators with Cornell Cooperative Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will be monitoring approximately 134 traps at 50 locations in 29 Counties in NY (Albany, Cayuga, Chemung, Clinton, Columbia, Dutchess, Erie, Essex, Genesee, Herkimer, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Orleans, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Suffolk, Tioga, Ulster, Washington, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates).

To date there has not been a first observation from these sites. The primary purpose of the mapping and blog sites are to communicate SWD first trap capture for growers to begin protecting their crops.

Historical 1st observation of SWD in NY
2011, first report by assessing fall raspberry, harvested late September in Columbia County.
2012, first report by rearing (two week lag time) on June 27, in June strawberry, Monroe County.
2012, first catch was on July 6, in sweet cherry, Yates County.
2013, first catch was on June 11 in woods, Ontario County.
2014, first catch was on July 9 in raspberry, Suffolk County.
2015, first catch was on June 18, in raspberry, Schuyler County.