Saratoga county had its first SWD of the season caught on June 23rd. A single male was trapped on a red sticky trap in a blackberry planting. Blackberries are not yet able to be fed on by SWD, but there were ripe raspberries nearby to the blackberry planting.
I'd like to give a big thank you to Natasha Field, ENYCHP, who was monitoring the trap in Saratoga county, as well as traps from the previous two posts!
We also reached sustained catch in Orange county on June 22nd. Three SWD were trapped in a cherry block, including 2 males on sticky traps and 1 female in a drowning jar trap.
Spotted wing drosophila was trapped in both a cherry and a raspberry block in Orleans Co this week. In the raspberry planting, 1 female SWD was trapped in a jar drowning trap. In the cherry block (there are both tart and sweet cherries in the block), 2 male SWD were trapped in a jar drowning trap. Both traps are on the same farm.
Cherries are coloring up, and SWD number can increase rapidly.
We have now reached sustained trap catch in Columbia County.
Last week Natasha Field (ENYCHP) trapped a single male swd in a sweet cherry planting. This week she trapped an additional 1 male and 2 females in the same block, also in a Scentry jar drowning trap. Sweet cherries are beginning to blush, and fruit is likely to be susceptible.
Cherry growers in Columbia County should begin their spray program now, if they have not already.
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.
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!
The SWD monitoring network will include 12 Cornell extension scientists who will set traps at 30 locations across New York State in 2022. Monitoring is done to determine first trap catch and sustained trap catch to inform the need to initiate a spray program if fruit are ripening. Please join me in thanking the following for their participation!
Andy Galimberti, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
Anya Osatuke, Harvest NY CCE
Don Gasiewicz, Wyoming County CCE
Elisabeth Hodgdon, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
Faruque Zaman, Suffolk County CCE
Janet van Zoeren, Lake Ontario Fruit Program
Jim O'Connell, Ulster County CCE
Laura McDermott, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
Liz Alexander, Chemung County CCE
Elizabeth Tee, Lake Ontario Fruit Program
Natasha Field, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
Nick Hamilton-Honey, St. Lawrence County CCE
A male spotted wing drosophila (SWD) on blueberry; another likely SWD is in the background. This photo was taken in early September when SWD numbers are typically very high.
This year, we again will use baited red sticky traps at some locations to determine if these work comparably to the drowning jar traps. If these traps perform well, they may prove useful to growers. If you're interested in learning how to use the red sticky traps, please contact Laura McDermott, ENYCHP, at lgm4@cornell.edu, or Janet van Zoeren, LOF, at jev67@cornell.edu.
Results from the monitoring network will be shared and a 2022 distribution map generated, which will be linked on Cornell Fruit Resources and the NYS IPM SWD websites. Traps will be set in Albany, Cayuga, Chemung, Clinton, Columbia, Dutchess, Essex, Niagara, Onondaga, Orleans, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schuyler, St. Lawrence, Suffolk, Tioga, Ulster, Washington, Wayne, and Wyoming Counties.
I've retired from Cornell University and am leaving the SWD blog in the capable hands of Janet van Zoeren. Natasha Field, ENYCHP, will help to manage the data for the distribution map, and Laura McDermott will provide overall guidance and organizational capacity for trapping supplies. I wish you all a very successful fruit growing year!
