Latest information from the NYS IPM Program
Our forth county to join the "first catch of the season" club for SWD in 2022 is Columbia County.
A single male was trapped in a sweet cherry planting. The Scentry jar trap was collected on June 7th. Tart cherries in that block (as well as many other blocks across the state) are just starting to blush. The trap is being monitored by Natasha Field, ENYCHP.
Chance of swd infestation in cherries remains low, but it's time to be on our guard.
We also have a first trap catch for SWD in Ulster County this week. So we are now up to 3 SWD total this season, spanning from northwest to nearly southeast corners of the state.
The single female was trapped in a blueberry planting on June 1st. The trap is being monitored by Jim O’Connell, ENYCHP.
The first SWD trapped in Niagara County for 2022 was found yesterday, in a cherry orchard near the lake. This is the 2nd SWD trapped so far this year, which puts us on a similar schedule to our trapping dates for 2021.
The single female trapped during the past week was in a Scentry jar trap in a cherry orchard near the lake in Niagara County. The trap is being monitored by Elizabeth Tee, Lake Ontario Fruit program.
Are you planning to monitor for SWD this year?
Female identification relies on the "scary" looking serrated ovipositor (saw-like egg laying device). When I am unsure if it is SWD or a lookalike female, I think to myself: "does this ovipositor look like it would tear up the skin of a fruit no problem? Does it look scary? If not, then it's not SWD".
The bomber characteristics for male SWD are: 1) The black spots from which the fly gets its common name. One on each wing, along the leading edge, circular to oval, sometimes with faint dark gray stripes within the spot. 2) The two combs on each of the forelegs. These will appear like black dots, but under high magnification, the teeth of the comb can be seen. These black combs' "teeth" run roughly parallel to the length of the leg. Non-SWD males have one comb, three or more combs, combs that run perpendicular to the leg, or very different body size and coloration that do SWD males.
Brush up on SWD identification on the Cornell Fruit Resources SWD Identification page, fruit.cornell.edu/spottedwing/identification/.
One male SWD was caught in a Scentry drowning trap on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. This is the first SWD trapped in the 2022 season, although the trap only went out last Tuesday so there were no "zero trap catch" events at this location.
The trap is in a cherry planting near to lake Ontario in Wayne County. This site has historically trapped SWD on the early side, and with luck the lake microclimate is a key factor in this early trap catch.
Although a SWD was caught, there's no fruit ripening, so no insecticide use at this time is needed against SWD.
However, this is a good reminder to set out the SWD traps!