Skip to content

Category: SWD info

Published on Leave a comment on SWD easily found now

Spotted wing drosophila adults can be seen cavorting on berries. Populations of this insect are exploding and it will become increasingly easy to see the fruit flies on berries in berry plantings. Tim Martinson, Dept of Horticulture, Cornell University, reports finding SWD on essentially every blueberry on the three bushes in his backyard and I have seen SWD adults on blackberry fruit and day neutral strawberry fruit. It is essential to cull overripe and damaged fruit from plantings and maintain insecticide coverage to protect fruit.

A male spotted wing drosophila (SWD) on blueberry; another likely SWD is in the background.
A male spotted wing drosophila on blackberry can be seen near the center of the photograph. Another male stretches his wings while standing on a berry's stem at left.

1

Published on 1 Comment on SWD in plums

I have begun examining plums collected in the Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario regions and, to date, have found evidence of oviposition only in samples collected in the Finger Lakes region. As populations of SWD build during late summer and plums ripen on the tree, fruit may be at increasing risk. Which plum varieties are at greatest risk of being infested? Those that have the softest skin and those that ripen latest will likely be most susceptible.

A micrograph of the surface of a plum showing the breathing tubes attached to a fruit fly egg nestled below the surface of the plum's skin. Only two of ten tree-ripe plums had such eggs, however, one plum had eight oviposition sites.

Published on Leave a comment on Black cherry hosts SWD

The forest and woodland tree, black cherry, Prunus serotina, is another SWD-preferred wild host. This tree grows in forests and landscapes throughout the Northeast and is native to North America. On Long Island, recent inspections by Faruque Zaman, Suffolk County Cornell Cooperative Extension, showed that over 90% of its fruit were infested with SWD. On average, 112 adult SWD emerged after incubating 4 oz. samples of black cherry fruit in the lab. So far, black cherry is the earliest (mid-July) wild host utilized by SWD that has been identified on Long Island. Pokeweed, another known wild host of SWD, has been found to have 80% infested fruit at this time. Fruit of these two wild hosts appear to be the most preferred in late summer and early fall. At this point, we have no clear idea what proportion of the SWD population is migrating into crops from these hosts nor whether SWD will overwinter from these wild hosts.

Published on Leave a comment on Organic Workshop

On August 26, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, at Westwind Orchard, 215 Lower Whitfield Rd., Accord, NY 12404, a workshop featuring organic management tactics for SWD will be held. Attend to learn about efficacy of organic-approved pesticides, use of exclusion netting, and key cultural practices to reduce SWD infestation of fruit. Registration fee is $10/person or $15/two or more people per farm. Preregistration deadline is 5 pm today, August 22! Contact the Registration Coordinator, Stephanie, by phone at 585-271-1979 ext. 509, or by email at register@nofany.org

Organized by Emily Cook, Organic Vegetable and Fruit Extension Educator, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County, the Organic Management of SWD Workshop is a collaboration between NOFA-NY and CCE of Ulster County with support from the USDA Risk Management Agency, Outreach and Assistance Program and the Local Economies Project of the New World Foundation.

Published on Leave a comment on Monroe County – first report

A single male SWD was reared from black raspberry fruit collected from a farm in Monroe County on July 22, 2013 by Debbie Breth, Lake Ontario Fruit Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension. Traps collected this week are currently being processed, though traps set at this farm location have not yet caught SWD. Raspberries are very susceptible to SWD infestation. Oviposition can be identified, with a hand lens, magnifying glass, or microscope, by finding the tiny, white breathing tubes on the fruit surface that are attached to the eggs laid under the fruit skin.

Breathing tubes of SWD eggs as seen (red circles and inset) on blackberry fruit, magnified by a microscope. Faruque Zaman, Suffolk County Cornell Cooperative Extension, found heavy SWD oviposition on blackberry fruit (>50% of fruit examined) collected on Long Island the week of July 15.

Published on Leave a comment on SWD look-a-likes

For those of us picking through the burgeoning number of vinegar flies caught in our traps to find the single female or male SWD, Faruque Zaman and Dan Gilrein, Suffolk County Cornell Cooperative Extension, Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Laboratory, have written an article published in Vol 12, No 7 of the NY Berry News, starting on page 3. Two excellent figures show male and female SWD next to look-a-likes. Another excellent resource for SWD identification is the fact sheet from Penn State, Spotted Wing Drosophila, Part 1: Overview and Identification.

Published on Leave a comment on Raspberries at risk

Greg Loeb's lab, Dept of Entomology, NY State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, has reared SWD from raspberry fruit that were collected on July 5 in Ontario County.

Laura McDermott, Eastern NY Horticulture Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension, reports finding larvae in raspberry fruit collected July 15 in Rensselaer and Albany Counties, NY. Fruit were collected randomly and the sample included a small amount of overripe fruit.  Although the larvae may be SWD, it is not possible to distinguish SWD larvae from other fruit flies.

Infested red raspberry fruit may leave a red juice stain on the berry receptacle when the fruit is picked. Fruit with small indents or bruises where the berry surface appears to have flattened or deflated may be damaged. A salt floatation method may be used for monitoring SWD infestation levels as the season progresses. Immerse fruit in a solution of 1 Tbsp. (14.8 cc) table salt per 1 cup (236.6 ml) water, wait one hour and examine for larvae that float to the surface.

Published on Leave a comment on SWD management alert!

The SWD trap network in Long Island and the Hudson Valley region of New York is in sustained trap catch. Growers of susceptible, soft-skinned fruit, especially raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry should take this threat seriously. A management strategy that includes protection of the crop with insecticides should be considered. SWD females can lay eggs directly into ripening fruit.

SWD distribution map for NY indicates that all counties in Long Island and the Hudson Valley in which traps are being monitored have caught SWD. (Counties colored white do not have SWD traps; those in gray have no SWD trap captures to date = July 12, 2013.)

Published on Leave a comment on SWD workshop/webinar

The Hudson Valley Lab will be hosting a workshop and webinar on SWD, 1:30-3:00 PM, Tuesday, July 16, 2013. The Lab is located at 3357 Route 9W, Highland, NY. Commercial growers, Extension Educators and Master Gardener Coordinators are invited to attend or join the webinar to learn about this invasive insect, its production implications and control options in organic and conventional fruit plantings. The program is free but please RSVP to Mike Fargione by 7/15/2013 to 845-691-7117 or mjf22@cornell.edu.

Published on Leave a comment on SWD Twilight Meeting

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.

Skip to toolbar