Monitoring and Management of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) on Blueberry and Blackberry Crops in Florida

A new invasive species of Drosophila known as Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii was detected in Florida in August 2009 in Hillsborough County. The current study was conducted to find suitable traps for SWD monitoring and to find possible management strategies to control this pest on soft-skinned fruits. Experiments were conducted in Gainesville, Florida during the summer 2015. Among six traps and/baits installed in the blackberry field for four weeks, results indicated that all traps were able to capture adults of D. suzukii. The Scentry trap + Scentry bait captured the most number (11 flies) compared to the others. The Scentry trap proves to be the most effective to capture D. suzukii in both crops, however the blueberry crops captured a higher number of flies. Among the nine traps and/baits installed in the blueberry field for five weeks, results indicated that all traps were able to capture adults of D. suzukii. Overall, the Scentry trap + Scentry bait and the Trece trap + yeast + Trece bait caught the most flies (>160 flies). The regular trap performed poorly (>50 flies) regardless of bait. This study will be repeated next summer during fruiting season to confirm these results.