Traps in the SWD monitoring network are located on commercial farms, and typically serviced by Cornell Extension Personnel or grower collaborators. In addition, some growers have begun servicing their own traps, with our guidance or from reading the online resources. This survey will help us understand berry industry needs and plan monitoring for future seasons. We appreciate you taking the time to help!
2023 Monitoring Results. In 2023, the SWD monitoring network included 118 monitoring locations in 24 counties, maintained by 18 individuals. First trap captures were reported from June 13-July 20, and sustained captures a week later (sustained capture = SWD detected at least two weeks in a row). This is considerably later than average; in many years, first capture occurs in mid-May, almost a month earlier! 2023 was a brilliant example of how monitoring can be used to delay pesticide applications until insects are present, saving time, labor, and materials.
Acknowledgements. I’d like to extend a huge thanks to Dr. Juliet Carroll and the many collaborators around NY state who have provided support for SWD in this trap comparison project for the past three years, as well as the monitoring network and blog since 2013!
2023 Collaborators:
Amy Edwards, Burdick Blueberries
Anya Osatuke, Harvest New York, CCE
Dan Gilrein, Suffolk County CCE
Don Gasiewicz, Wyoming County CCE
Elisabeth Hodgdon, ENYCHP, CCE
Elizabeth Tee, Lake Ontario Fruit Program (LOF), CCE
Gary Phelps, Gary’s Berries
James O'Connell, Ulster County CCE
Janet van Zoeren, Lake Ontario Fruit Program (LOF), CCE
Jared Dyer, Suffolk County CCE
Jennifer Staton, ENYCHP, CCE
Jonny Williams, Northstar Blueberry Farm
Laura McDermott, ENYCHP, CCE
Natasha Field, ENYCHP, CCE
Nick Hamilton-Honey, CCE
Support for this work was provided by the NYS Berry Growers Association, the NYS IPM Program, and the USDA NIFA CPPM EIP Award 2017-70006-27142.
“Advances in Behavior-Based Tactics for Management of Spotted-Wing Drosophila” —watch this one-hour 2022 SCRI NIFA Spotted-Wing Drosophila Management Team Webinar which aired on Thursday, December 8th, 2022 at 12:00pm EST and learn. Watch it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPkQhWafZbk
What are behavior-based tactics, you ask? Well this is when entomologists figure out what control tactics can be used against an insect pest, based on how it lives. Think about mating disruption, used against oriental fruit moth, to prevent the male moths from mating with the female moths by flooding the orchard with volatile sex pheromones. With SWD, there may be ways to use feeding attractants, called kairomones, to attract the insects away from the fruit and then kill them. This is an attract-and-kill tactic.
Male SWD, circled in yellow, can be readily detected on red sticky card traps. Photo: J. Carroll
Other insect behaviors being investigated include visual cues the insects use — thus we now have red traps for monitoring when SWD arrives. Attend and learn about the promising and affordable behavioral control tactics this team of talented entomologists is developing against SWD.
The SWD parasitoid Ganapsis brasiliensis laying an egg into an SWD larva inside a blueberry. This parasitoid was collected in Asia. Photo: K. Daane
There is be a brief update on biological control. There are many tiny wasps that like to lay eggs in SWD, some native and some, which are more selective towards SWD, from Asia. Members of this team now have over ten years of work on these foreign natural enemies and they are on the cusp of being able to release these against SWD.
The Cornell SWD blog and monitoring network are into their tenth year! We’d love to hear from you to learn what you think about the SWD blog and its value to your operation and work.
Please take 10 tiny minutes to complete our Value of the SWDblog Qualtrics survey about the Spotted Wing Drosophila blog. This will help us improve our information delivery in the years to come!
Juliet Carroll checks a SWD trap in a tart cherry orchard to help determine the need to spray, as fruit ripen.
After 20 years with the Cornell Cooperative ExtensionNYS IPM Program, Juliet Carroll, Fruit IPM Coordinator and yours truly, will be retiring next month. But have no fear, a new Fruit IPM Coordinator will be hired — the search is underway!
AND Laura McDermott, Natasha Field, Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program, Janet van Zoeren, Lake Ontario Fruit Program, and Anya Osatuke, Harvest NY Program, will be coordinating the SWD monitoring network, which will get underway in May.
Thank you all for the opportunity to provide you with important IPM information. Tell us what you think of the SWD blog!
Together we can develop and adopt sustainable ways to manage pests and use methods that minimize environmental, health, and economic risks — it is the IPM way!
Spotted-wing drosophila monitoring helps to determine when populations begin to build up, and can help save growers' spray applications in a late infestation year. In 2021, we tested red sticky card traps, baited with SWD lures, to detect first arrival of SWD in berry plantings and cherry orchards. The baited, red sticky traps provided good results for the SWD monitoring network. We found that the red sticky traps have potential for use by growers and consultants to monitor SWD pressure in at-risk fruit plantings. The exciting news is that Laura McDermott, ENYCHP, obtained grant funding to further test the red sticky traps and to lead a statewide effort to educate growers and consultants on their use.
SWD monitoring recap:
The 2021 statewide monitoring effort included 126 trap locations monitored by 16 Cornell extension scientists in 23 counties. During the season, first trap catch across the SWD monitoring network occurred over a 14-week-long period, from May 11 (Niagara County) to August 17 (Steuben County). The occurrence of first catch over several weeks is typical for SWD occurrence in New York State. However, most trapping sites were not catching SWD during the late May and early to mid-June period, and only one reached sustained catch in early June. Normally, by mid-June, most traps will have caught SWD.
Scentry jar trap for SWD set in a raspberry patch.
Scentry jar traps with lure have been used in the SWD monitoring network since 2016. Lured jar traps from which SWD are filtered, sorted from related species, then identified with magnification are currently the best at attracting the first insects, but growers cannot implement this level of monitoring and the statewide trap network isn’t robust enough to deliver farm-specific information. Using an easier monitoring method, if it works as well as the jar traps, will help growers monitor SWD on their own farms. Growers in New Jersey and Ontario, Canada have successfully used red sticky card traps with lures to monitor SWD on their farms.
Sticky card trap results:
Cornell extension scientists in the SWD monitoring network conducted a preliminary test in 2021 of the use of red sticky card traps. A total of 20 locations, where both the Scentry-lure-baited jar traps and the Trécé-lure-baited red sticky card traps were being used, yielded data to compare the first trap catch date for the jar traps and the red sticky card traps. First catch on the red sticky cards compared to the jar traps was about one week earlier at 40% of the trap locations (8 out of 20), about one week later at 45% of the locations (9 out of 20) and on the same date at 15% of the locations (3 out of 20) . These results suggest that the red sticky cards will work comparably to the jar traps and that using sticky traps won’t lead to trap catch results being obtained too late, which would place crops at possible risk of infestation from populations of SWD that have gone undetected.
Comparison of first SWD catch in Trécé-lure-baited red sticky card traps versus Scentry-lure-baited jar traps.
Setting up sticky cards:
The red sticky cards are relatively easy to use, though the sticky coating on the traps can pose a challenge for the user. Wearing nitrile, latex, or plastic disposable gloves to protect hands from the sticky goo on the trap is essential. Tying back long hair can be helpful. An SWD lure is positioned above the red sticky card, which is hung from a branch, trellis wire or wooden stake, preferably 1.5 m (5 ft.) off the ground, and within the fruit zone in a shaded area. In berries, this will depend on how the plants are trained and traps may need to be placed lower. Traps must be secured tightly to the trellis wire, branch, or wooden stake to minimize sliding or blowing around with the wind or the airblast sprayer. Canes or branches should be tied up or removed so the sticky traps are easily seen and won’t contact any foliage or berries. Mark the location of the trap with flagging tape. Label the trap with a code number for your records. Record the date the trap and lure were set out in the field and the trap GPS coordinates, if needed.
The steps for hanging the lure and red sticky cards.
Reading the sticky cards:
It is easy to identify the male flies, because they have the distinctive oval spot on each wing. To service the trap and identify the male SWD, again, it is best to wear gloves and tie back long hair to protect yourself from the sticky goo. Each week, remove the trap and check for stuck male SWD. Examine both sides of the sticky trap with a hand lens, magnifying glass or OptiVisor DA 7 (2.7x magnification) or DA 10 (3.5x). Enumerate the male SWD caught on both sides of the sticky card and record the total number per red sticky card trap. Discard the examined trap and install a new one. It is very important to change the trap weekly when you check for SWD. This will make it much easier to identify insects. Change the lure every 4 weeks and make note of the date the lure was changed.
The steps for servicing the red sticky card traps in the field.Deborah Breth, Lake Ontario Fruit Team, retired, examining fruit using an OptiVisor. A hand lens is shown hanging from a lanyard around her neck.
Future plans:
The two-year grant paves the way for further testing the red sticky card traps and educating growers and consultants on their use. This project is getting started in spring 2022. It will entail grower and consultant demonstrations, extension materials, and education efforts on the use of red sticky cards baited with SWD lures, to monitor for SWD in berry plantings and cherry orchards.
Male SWD, circled in yellow, can be readily detected on red sticky card traps.
Acknowledgements:
We want to thank the collaborators on the 2021 SWD monitoring network, many of whom tested the red sticky cards.
Andy Galimberti, ENYCHP, CCE
Ariel Kirk, Steuben County CCE
Barb Neal, Tioga County CCE
Dave Thorp, Livingston County
Don Gasiewicz, Wyoming County CCE
Elisabeth Hodgdon, ENYCHP, CCE
Elizabeth Tee, Lake Ontario Fruit Program (LOF), CCE
Faruque Zaman, Suffolk County CCE
James O'Connell, Ulster County CCE
Liz Alexander, Chemung County CCE
Natasha Field, ENYCHP, CCE
Sarah Tobin, ENYCHP, CCE
Support for this work was provided by the NYS Berry Growers Association, the NYS IPM Program, and the USDA NIFA CPPM EIP Award 2017-70006-27142.
This blog was co-authored by Laura McDermott, Janet van Zoeren, and Anya Osatuke. Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program, Lake Ontario Fruit Program, and Harvest NY, respectively, all with Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Learn how to apply monitoring and sampling to protect your crops from SWD infestations. Watch this webinar!Monitoring and sampling tools to improve spotted-wing drosophila management. Presented on Wednesday, November 10th, 2022this webinar is now available on YouTube.
Scentry trap for SWD set in a raspberry patch.
In the Annual Sustainable SWD Management Webinar the project scientists cover trapping technologies, lures and baits, potential trap thresholds, best techniques to gauge fruit infestation, all investigated by the Sustainable SWD Management Project team.
Learn about the current guidelines for SWD adult and larval sampling methods and practical applications of these tools for fruit growers. Presenters include:
Rufus Isaacs & Steve Van Timmeren (Michigan State University)
Hannah Burrack (NC State University)
Cesar Rodriguez-Saona (Rutgers University)
Phil Fanning (University of Maine)
Vaughn Walton (Oregon State University)
A Trece red sticky card trap and lure set in a tart cherry tree to monitor for SWD.
These SWD experts work on the SWD-susceptible crops you love to grow and sell: raspberry, highbush blueberry, lowbush blueberry, blackberry, and cherry.
Data from 10 years of trapping for first catch of SWD, posted below, shows a trend towards earlier first arrival of SWD into fruit plantings. During the 2021 season, first trap catch occurred over a 14-week-long period, May 11 (Niagara County) to August 17 (Steuben County). This year we tested the utility of red sticky cards, baited with SWD lures. The SWD team achieved another year of successful SWD monitoring!Please join me in thanking the 15 extension scientists who contributed to this effort across 23 counties. Growers in and outside the network locations rely on this information to alert them about the need to protect their at-risk fruits crops from SWD infestation as harvests draw near.
Earlier first trap catch
From the initial year of trapping for SWD, in 2012, we have seen a trend for first trap catch to be earlier, 76 days earlier. Other northern states with trapping programs have noticed this trend. Could it be SWD is adapting to our climate and more adults are surviving the winters? Could it be related to climate change and milder winters or autumns with fewer early freeze events? Or are the trap lures simply getting better?
Asynchronous first trap catch
Map showing first catch months for counties having traps. Counties colored white have no traps.
Where was SWD during late May and early to mid-June? We don’t know. Most trapping sites weren’t catching SWD during this period, and only one reached sustained catch in early June. “Normally” (is there a normal?) by mid-June, many traps will have caught SWD. Were the lures off? Not the case, we were using both Scentry (in jar traps) and Trece (with sticky cards) lures and these traps, from a quick perusal of my data, yielded comparable results. Perhaps simply another puzzle for researchers to ponder over — weather effects?, natural enemies?, spray programs?
Baited red sticky cards
Male SWD can be detected readily on red sticky card traps.
We achieved success with the red sticky cards, though deployment and use of the cards can be tricky. Stay tuned for more information on this in a future blog. Laura McDermott will be leading a two-year project to work more with these types of SWD traps and educate growers and consultants on their use.
Now, on to thanking everyone!
These 15 Cornell University extension scientists participated in SWD monitoring this year in 23 counties. A special thanks go out to them for setting traps, changing lures, servicing traps, and identifying SWD. This network would not be possible without their support and contributions — suggestions for improvement, ideas for mapping, perspectives on grower needs and steadfast cooperation.
Andy Galimberti, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
Ariel Kirk, Steuben County CCE
Barb Neal, Tioga County CCE
Dave Thorp, Livingston County
Don Gasiewicz, Wyoming County CCE
Elisabeth Hodgdon, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
Elizabeth Tee, Lake Ontario Fruit Program
Faruque Zaman, Suffolk County CCE
Janet van Zoeren, Lake Ontario Fruit Program
Jim O'Connell, Ulster County CCE
Juliet Carroll, NYS IPM Program
Laura McDermott, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
Liz Alexander, Chemung County CCE
Natasha Field, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
Sarah Tobin, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
Most importantly, we acknowledge the support of our funding partners:
In an orchard of sweet and tart cherry trees, first catch of a single, male SWD was obtained on June 21, 2021. Sweet cherry harvest has begun and, therefore, fruit are susceptible to infestation by SWD. The Michigan State University (MSU) degree day model can be used to clock cherry fruit susceptibility to SWD.
Plan your SWD management strategy:
Plan insecticide use so you have materials with lower PHI for use close to harvest.
Rotate active ingredients (IRAC groups) through to harvest for resistance management.
Choose CFF/BCFF/ECFF insecticides that have activity against SWD.
Don’t stretch spray intervals, 7 day interval max.
Male spotted wing drosophila characteristics; most notable are the spots, one on each wing.
Traps at this location are being monitored by Natasha Field, Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program, CCE. Natasha is also entering all the data for the ENYCHP SWD trap network in eight counties.
Across the state, tart and sweet cherries are approaching harvest and harvests of sweet cherry are underway in Eastern NY. Cherry orchards in western NY have bright red, softening fruit throughout. Bird deterrents for sweet cherries are going out and bird damage was seen. This signals that sweet cherry blocks may be at risk of SWD infestation... if SWD is in the orchard.
Scentry jar trap set in a tart cherry tree. Fruit are coloring and will soon be ripe for harvest. When ripening and ripe, cherries can be infested by SWD.
Once cherries begin to ripen, starting around first blush, they will become increasingly susceptible to SWD damage, and applications of effective insecticides will be necessary to keep this pest in check through harvest. The SWD insecticide quick guide for stone fruit & grapes has just been revamped for 2021, and is available online here on the SWD Management page of Cornell Fruit Resources.
Spray intervals should be tight, no more than a 7-day interval. Applications should also be reapplied if there is any rainfall. Make sure you rotate the insecticide modes of action (IRAC groups) to prevent insecticide resistance in SWD. Although SWD has been somewhat slow to arrive and build up this year, if your orchard has been troubled by SWD infestation in the past, pay close attention to your insecticide program. When choosing insecticides to manage plum curculio and the cherry fruit flies, select those that are also active against SWD by cross referencing with the SWD insecticide quick guide.
MSU Degree Day Model
Tart cherry bloom.
To help determine your blocks’ susceptibility and when to begin insecticide treatments, you can use the new MSU degree day model. The model (DD base 4°C BE) predicts cherry fruit ripening (Zavalloni et al. 2006. J Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 131: 601-067). The adaptation for SWD, out of Dr. Larry Gut’s and Dr. Nikki Rothwell’s labs at MSU, clocks risk windows for when fruit is soft enough for SWD to lay eggs in it. This model has been field validated for tart cherry and looks promising for sweet cherry, too. It is now available on Enviroweather in Michigan. We can apply it in NY by using the Degree Day Calculator on NEWA. newa.cornell.edu/degree-day-calculator
To clock fruit susceptibility in cherries, degree days (DD) are accumulated starting at the full bloom date. Tart cherries were in full bloom on May 2-3, across much of the Lake Ontario region.
Low risk – 400 to 529 accumulated DD 4°C BE (no infestation)
Moderate risk – 530 to 649 accumulated DD 4°C BE
High risk – 650 to 1000 accumulated DD 4°C BE
Portions of this blog were contributed by Michael Basedow, mrb254@cornell.edu, Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Tree Fruit Specialist.
The SWD parasitoid Ganapsis brasiliensis laying an egg into an SWD larva inside a blueberry. This parasitoid was collected in Asia. Photo: K. Daane
You know that spotted-wing drosophila (SWD) is a devastating pest of berries and stone fruits — worldwide. Losses due to SWD can be as high as 100% and have been valued at more than $718 million annually in the U.S. The zero tolerance for SWD in fresh and processed fruit has led growers to make preventative insecticide applications when fruit are ripe — essentially on a weekly schedule. For growers that don't want to spray that much or at all, they simply shut down when SWD infestation hits.
Organic management of SWD is even more challenging due to the low number of effective OMRI-approved insecticides. Our limited understanding of the biology of SWD hasn't yet translated into non-chemical management tactics. This US research team was funded by USDA-NIFA through OREI Award No. 2018-51300-28434 to develop, evaluate, and implement systems-based organic management programs for SWD.
This Organic Management of SWD 2021 Webinar provides a comprehensive update on organic management of spotted-wing drosophila. The webinar presentations summarize findings of the research conducted by the project team on organically approved strategies including behavioral, cultural, biological, and chemical tactics to manage SWD.
Presenters include:
Ash Sial (University of Georgia): Ash is the blueberry entomologist at the UGA and the Project Director for the SWD Organic Management USDA-NIFA OREI grant. Kent Daane (University of California Berkeley): Kent is an Extension Specialist at UC Berkeley focusing on biological control of SWD. Elena Rhodes (University of Florida): Elena is a fruit entomologist and works on behavioral management techniques to control SWD. Gabriella Tait (Oregon State University): Gabriella is a fruit entomologist and works on cultural control strategies for SWD. Steve Van Timmeren (Michigan State University): Steve is a fruit entomologist and works on chemical control and resistance management strategies for SWD. Leah English (University of Arkansas): Leah is an agricultural economist and develops interactive tools to aid farmers with pest management decisions. Kay Kelsey (University of Georgia): Kay is an impact evaluation specialist and works with extension and research to evaluate the impact of their projects.
A male spotted wing drosophila (SWD) on blueberry; another likely SWD is in the background.
Don't miss this information-packed webinar! Learn the latest, emerging concepts in organic SWD management. Learn what the up-and-coming non-chemical tactics are that anyone can use on their farm to reduce the risk of SWD infestation in fruits.
On December 8th, a nation-wide team of scientists presented a webinar, organized by Dr. Hannah Burrack from NC State, on the past ten years research findings related to spotted wing drosophila (SWD) management. The entire 1.5-hour webinar recording can be viewed by anyone — you can access it on the Sustainable Spotted Wing Drosophila Management, swdmanagement.org/, webpage or watch it on YouTube, A Decade of SWD: Lessons for Management at youtu.be/Rk-e13Gov24. Some of the key takeaway messages I found most of interest are described below.
Dr. Greg Loeb from Cornell University presented on the seasonal phenology of SWD. As we’ve emphasized, and you have probably seen in your own operations, SWD doesn’t arrive in traps or orchards early in the spring. They generally show up in our region around mid-June, and populations continue to build through to harvest. Dr. Loeb presented findings from several preliminary studies looking at the best timing for the most efficacious insecticides, which show that best control comes from using the best materials early in the season (when populations are low, and you can best delay the population spike), and rotating to softer products later, closer to harvest. Remember that you can find an updated insecticide efficacy chart on the Cornell Fruit Resources SWD webpagefruit.cornell.edu/spottedwing/management/.
Dr. Phil Fanning from the University of Maine presented preliminary data on the use of a feeding stimulant – to see if adding something “tasty” to an insecticide application would encourage SWD adults to feed more, and increase the efficacy of the insecticide. Although these were found to work moderately well in the lab for some insecticides (especially acetamiprid), preliminary results show it to not be effective in the field, at this time.
Dr. Kent Daane from the University of California presented information on the potential for classical biological control (bringing natural enemies from SWD’s native range to introduce in the USA). This is, of course, a complex decision to make, since we want to be very careful not to introduce a new species that may cause problems of its own! However, native natural enemies seem to be very ineffective at controlling SWD, so classical biocontrol would be the best option, if it can be done safely. At this point, there are two candidate parasitoid wasps that have been thoroughly researched and have been shown to not cause “non-target” effects on other native flies or insects. If all goes well, they could move into the permitting stage in 2021, and be available for release in the next year or two!
Dr. Ash Sial from the University of Georgia summarized the most effective cultural control practices:
The ideal harvest frequency has been found to be 2-day intervals, in order to maximize control while minimizing unnecessary time spent harvesting.
Increased pruning and use of drip irrigation can make your planting less attractive to SWD.
Mulch that creates a complete physical barrier (i.e. weed fabric or mylar) reduces SWD pupation.
Exclusion mesh with <1mm holes has a very high initial cost, but can lead to 100% control when done well.
Dr. Cesar Rodriguez-Saona from Rutgers University discussed Attract and Kill technologies, which show potential in research trials, but still need more data before they would be ready to be implemented.
Dr. Vaughn Walton discussed Sterile Insect Technique, which is still in the field research stage, and would have a long development and regulatory process to go through before it could be available for commercial use.
Finally, I’m excited to announce that Dr. Larry Gut, from Michigan State University, will be presenting on his SWD research at our upcoming Winter Tree Fruit Conference on February 2nd! Dr. Gut specializes in tree fruit entomology, and he will be discussing a degree day model for SWD infestation that his lab has been developing, to help track more specifically the best timing for utilizing your best chemistries to control SWD, among other SWD management recommendations. I hope you’ll be able to attend!
This blog was contributed by Janet van Zoeren, tree fruit and berry IPM specialist, Lake Ontario Fruit Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension. Contect her at jev67@cornell.edu. Sign up for their newsletter and become a member of their Regional CCE Program. Find out more at CFR CCE Newsletters webpage fruit.cornell.edu/newsletters/.
From the initial year of trapping for SWD, in 2012, we have seen a trend for first trap catch to be earlier, 76 days earlier. Other northern states with trapping programs have noticed this trend. Could it be SWD is adapting to our climate and more adults are surviving the winters? Could it be related to climate change and milder winters or autumns with fewer early freeze events? Or are the trap lures simply getting better?
