This presentation was given at the Horticulture Industry Show in Fort Smith Arkansas in January 2015. It gives an up-to-date overview of the Spotted Wing Drospohila and what we've learned about it.

1. What Did We learn This Year About
Spotted Wing Drosophila?
Professor Donn T. Johnson
and Barbara Lewis
Department of Entomology

2. SWD Information: http://comp.uark.edu/~dtjohnso/
Updated as
needed

3. HANDOUT

6. % of unsprayed ripe fruit infested by
SWD in Arkansas
Ripe Fruit 2013* 2014*
Raspberry 48% 100%
‘Wye’ berry - 100%
Blackberry 30% 100%
Wild Blackberry - 100%
Nectarine -
Many fruit with
lesions
Peach Low (lesion or crack) Low (lesion or crack)
Blueberry low low
Strawberry Low Low (late June)
Grape Low (lesion or crack) Low (lesion or crack)
* Get close to 0% SWD infested ripe fruit with weekly
insecticide applications during ripening to harvest

7. SWD Infestation in Commercial Raspberries
and Blackberries in Springdale (2014)
Mustang Max applied 17 July
Mostly eggs on fruit
Date # Fruit # Infested % SWD
6/4/2014 30 RB 0 0
6/9/2014 30 R 0 0
6/10/2014 30 R 2 6.7
6/18/2014 30 R 0 0
7/1/2014 30 R 7 23.3
7/8/2014 27 B 25 92.6
7/14/2014
7/21/14 30 B 30 100.0
7/28/14 30 B 37.9
R = raspberry; B = blackberry

8. Fruit Attacked by SWD in AR
SWD Larvae on
Wild Blackberry
SWD Eggs on Blackberry
SWD Eggs/Larvae on Nectarine
(may be bacterial spot lesions)
SWD Eggs on Raspberry
and Wye berry
D. melanogaster egg
SWD egg

9. 11 July 2014 - SWD found in wild blackberries
in clam shell

10. SWD Infestation of
Commercial or Wild Blackberries
• Ripe blackberries > 11 % Brix = 100% infested
• Ripening blackberries = 9.4 % Brix = < 13% infested
• Unripe to green = < 7% Brix = 0% infested
Springdale, AR 2014 ripe ripening unripe
12-Jul 100
14-Jul 100 13.3 0
21-Jul 80 6.7 0
28-Jul 50
4-Aug 93
11-Aug 95
% SWD infested wild blackberry

11. Summary of SWD Knowledge
(eFly, WERA1021 SWD Working Group Meetings)
• Fruit infestations in Fayetteville, AR:
• 1 July (Fayetteville)= 23% SWD raspberries
• From 8 July to 12 Aug. = > 83% SWD infested blackberries
– Fruit infestations in Clarksville, AR:
• 21 July = 93% SWD blackberries
• From 21 July to 25 Aug. = > 72% SWD infested fruit
• Pick daily, refrigerate fruit immediately and keep cold until
processed or eaten
– 2-3 days at 34⁰F kills SWD eggs and small larvae

12. SWD Workshops & Updates at
State and Regional Grower Meetings
• 2013
– March and April 2013 – 3 Extension Agent/grower workshops
• 2014
– 10 January - OK/AR Horticulture Industry Show
– 6 February - Missouri Organic Association
– 8 February - Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference
– 28 February - Mid America Strawberry Grower Conference
– 4 March - SE Branch Entomological Society of America meeting
– 27 March - Organic High Tunnel Strawberry Production
– 31 July – Fayetteville Farmers’ Market vendors
• 2015
– 16-17 January - OK/AR Horticulture Industry Show
– 29 January – 6th Mid-South Commercial Horticulture-- Fruit Producers
Meeting in Conway, AR

13. Output of DD Model for Searcy, AR (2014)
http://uspest.org/cgi-bin/ddmodel.us?sta=KSRC
5 generations
by 1 Sept.
• Predict: 1st generation fly peak emergence by 19 May,
1st to 4th gen. peak egg laying by 28 May, 17 June, 4 & 23 July
• Traps caught 1st SWD on 27 May in Searcy
and on 17 June in Fayetteville with damage by 24 June

14. Management of SWD
1. Thin or open up canopy to improve spray coverage
2. Monitor traps weekly for SWD flies starting 3 wks before ripening
3. Spray if SWD found and fruit are ripening, apply recommended
insecticide every 5 to 7 days (re-apply after 1” rain) and rotate
mode of action to delay resistance development in SWD
4. Evaluate spray effectiveness = look for SWD eggs/larvae in fruit
5. Exclude SWD using screen or row cover (mesh < 1 mm holes)
6. Pick daily, refrigerate fruit immediately and keep cold until
processed or eaten (2-3 days at 34⁰F kills SWD eggs and larvae)
7. Sanitation: pick leftover or damaged fruit and solarize in black bags
to reduce SWD food source
8. Stay informed – visit SWD web sites and attend grower meetings

15. Informative SWD Web sites
http://spottedwing.org/
http://swd.ces.ncsu.edu/
http://www.ipm.msu.edu/invasive_species/sp
otted_wing_drosophila

16. Fill Out 2014 SWD Impact Survey (Handout)
http://swd.ces.ncsu.edu/2014/12/measuring-the-impacts-of-spotted-wing-drosophila-
in-2014-your-help-needed/
• Participation in the survey is voluntary.
• Please fill in survey and mail back ASAP
• The purpose of this survey is to collect information measuring the
impact of SWD on agricultural production.
• The responses will be used to prioritize research, extension, and
education activities for SWD.
• Survey data may be summarized by state, crop, farm size, or farm
type.
• Results will be available in mid March 2015 at: swd.ces.ncsu.edu
• Ask questions about this survey by contacting Dr. Hannah Burrack
(hjburrac@ncsu.edu or 919.513.4344)

17. 2014 Research/Extension Working Groups on SWD
• Mission: to develop sustainable SWD management strategies
– January - eFLY SWD Working Group
– October - planning meeting and subsequent conference calls
to develop a proposal on Organic Management of SWD
– November
• WERA1021 Spotted Wing Drosophila Biology, Ecology, and
Management
• 2 symposia on SWD at the Entomological Society of
America meeting

18. Summary of SWD Knowledge
(eFly, WERA1021 SWD Working Group Meetings)
• SWD preference:
– Given a choice, SWD lay more eggs in cultivated blackberry than
blueberry or wild blackberries (Liburd; FL)
– High risk for SWD fruit infestations: blackberries, primocane-
fruiting blackberries and raspberries and day neutral strawberries
• Other SWD hosts:
– Wild plum, wild cherry, night shade, wild blackberry, holly,
sparkleberry, poke weed
• SWD infestations are higher on fruit in lower canopy
• Yeast or Trécé lure baited traps captured 1st SWD 1 wk before 1st
infested berry detected (Johnson, AR; Loeb, NY)
• For every 8 SWD flies in traps, there are at least 92 SWD eggs, larvae
of pupae in fruit

19. Summary of SWD Knowledge
(eFly, WERA1021 SWD Working Group Meetings)
• > 40% more insecticide applications are being used compared
to before SWD appeared (NJ)
• 5 to 7 day insecticide spray program with a registered product
• Efficacy of different insecticides
– Spray coverage is vital
– Conventional insecticides gave > 3 day kill
• Malathion, Delegate, Mustang Max and Entrust are
effective
– OMRI insecticides gave < 3 day kill
• Pyganic (poor to fair efficacy – degrades in 1 day)

20. Knowledge Needed on SWD
(eFly, WERA1021 SWD Working Group Meetings)
• Yet to determine:
– If/where SWD overwinters
– How SWD disperse into fruit plantings
– Time of day & how long flies spend resting, dispersing to
new habitat, mating, feeding and laying eggs
• What time of day best to apply short residual sprays
• Where to direct sprays on part of plant most
frequented by SWD

21. Summary of SWD Knowledge
(eFly, WERA1021 SWD Working Group Meetings)
• Six issues of AR Fruit & Nut News were disseminated to
County Agents, growers and available online:
http://comp.uark.edu/~dtjohnso/Arkansas_Fruit_Newsletter.html

22. What Makes Trap Attractive to SWD?
• Visual Cues:
– Vertical bands of Red / Yellow > Black > White > Clear
• Place holes just above bait solution
• Large entry area (2mm mesh siding or large number of holes) will
bring in higher numbers of SWD; too large a screen area will allow
for to much evaporation
Amy J. Dreves, Oregon State University

23. Changes in SWD Monitoring Traps
2014 Several Effective Trap Designs
2012
trap
2013
traps

24. Summary of SWD Knowledge
(eFly, WERA1021 SWD Working Group Meetings)
2 liter inverted bottle trap is better than the red or clear cup traps
• It cost < $0.10/trap, is easy to make
• Opening is at the bottom of the trap
• Use with insecticide & sugar baited sprays or attract-and-kill program
Red cup trap, two bottle traps, yellow Trappit trap, and screen trap
(Left photo: Cowles Right photo: Johnson)
http://www.northeastipm.org/about-us/publications/ipm-insights/how-to-
trap-spotted-wing-drosophila/

25. Making the Bottle Trap

26. Best SWD Bait
(eFly, WERA1021 SWD Working Group Meetings)
Yeast bait is slightly better than Trécé dual SWD lure
(Michigan) and slightly better than 11% ethanol spiked
grape juice + ACV:
• Yeast bait = 32 oz water + 2 tbsp yeast + 4 tbsp sugar
– Ferment for a day, then transfer 4 fl oz to trap
– Sieve out flies and change solution weekly
• Trécé SWD dual lures held over apple cider vinegar
(ACV) changed monthly
• Sieve out flies weekly
• 11% ethanol spiked grape juice + ACV
• Place traps at fruit height at end of row with ripening
fruit nearest woodlot

27. Compare Trécé AB Dual Lures to Yeast Ferment Lure
in Commercial Blackberries in Judsonia, AR (2014)

28. 2014 SWD Trap Placement, Bait &
Collecting SWD Flies

29. Trécé SWD dual lures more attractive than
Concord grape juice + apple cider vinegar spiked to
11% ethanol (NW Arkansas 2014)
Trécé
Ferment = 11%
EtOH spiked grape
juice + ACV

30. SWD in Berries in NW AR
1st SWD flies on 24 June; > 40 SWD/trap from 8 July to 12 Aug.,
and peak of 126 or 34 SWD/trap on 15 July (two sprays applied = )
Malathion
Mustang Max
92%
40%
100%
34% 83%
100%
Mustang Max
23%
0%
Tontitown had 33% SWD infested blackberries on 14 July, then sprayed weekly = < 5%
infested berries through 18 Aug.; Springdale had 23% SWD infested raspberries on 24
June, > 83% SWD infested black berries from 8 July to 12 Aug., 2 sprays 40% & 34%

31. SWD in Fruit Station in Clarksville, AR
1st SWD flies on 14 July; > 20 SWD/trap from 21 July to 18 Aug.,
Peak of 160 SWD/trap on 28 July (sprayed weekly mid-July to Sept.)
Unsprayed blackberries had “0” infested until 21 July and > 72% SWD
infested berries from 21 July to 25 Aug.
Weekly sprayed blackberries had from 16 to 45% infested berries
93%
88%
92%
72%
40%
45% 20% 16%

32. Summary of SWD Knowledge
(eFly, WERA1021 SWD Working Group Meetings)
• Netting has been effective in excluding SWD in Arkansas,
Quebec and in New York
• Attract & Kill: attractants lure SWD to insecticide bait –
promising if used around the field to attract and kill SWD
• Mass trapping - no success so far

33. Proteknet 80g Exclusion Netting and Entry Door into Blueberries
Exclude SWD, Birds, Mammals and Prevent Hail Damage
Dale Ila M. Riggs, The Berry Patch
of Stone Wall Hill Farm, LLC in
Stephentown, NY
New Liskeard, Ontario blueberries

34. Infested Fruit in Blueberries With
and Without (Control) Exclusion
Screen
Dale Ila M. Riggs, The Berry Patch

35. Exclusion by Screening High Tunnel

36. SWD inside/outside screened high tunnel (Fayetteville, AR)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Outside Dual Lure + ACV
Fermt+ACV
HT (screen) Lure + ACV
No.SWDflies/baitedtrap

37. Emerging SWD flies from ripe blackberries in
outside planting in Fayetteville, AR (2014)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Females
Males
No.emergedSWDflies

38. Acknowledgements
Funding:
• Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium
• USDA/SARE - Extending the market season with high tunnel
technology for organic fruit production
• AR Ag. Dept. and Extension IPM-SCBGP:
 Spotted wing drosophila

39. Acknowledgements
Cooperators:
 Co-PIs: Elena Garcia, Curt Rom, John Clark, Jackie Lee, Eric Stafne
 Barbara Lewis, Sam Kim, Clint Trammel, Jason McAfee, Luke
Freeman, Heather Friedrich, Cynthia Stewart, Philip Stewart, and
Kay Buck (UA Farm in Fayetteville)
 Taunya Ernst (Fruit Station in Clarksville)
 Clay Wingfield & Jessica Lefors (SWREC, Hempstead & Howard Co.)
 14 AR County Extension agents
 Especially Sherri Sanders, Dustin Blakey, Carey Wall, Berni Kurz, Cindy Ham,
Bob Rhodes and Carey Wall
 Berry growers: Pat Ford, Les Dozier, Marlin Wallace, David Dickey