Spotted-wing Drosophila are slowly becoming active

Since 2012, Extension educators and a handful of state specialist have set out traps to monitor when spotted-wing Drosophila (SWD) begin to migrate from their overwintering locations into cultivated small fruit fields where growers have to actively manage them. This year, only two counties, Franklin and Greene, have traps out early to monitor for this pest ahead of the dozen or so county network sites that will become active in mid-June.  Franklin county has caught 26 SWD in 2019 but only back in January, nothing more recent. The Greene county site caught two SWD last week (May 28), one in a wood line and one at the edge of a blueberry field but none this week. Recall that the threshold is one fly to begin management when the fruit begins to ripen or is ripe. So, the message is the adults are slowly becoming active, and as the weather warms and fruit begins to ripen, be on the lookout for SWD.

For tips on how to identify, monitor, and manage SWD, check out OSU’s resources at http://u.osu.edu/pestmanagement/pests/swd/and the SWD section of OSU’s IPM YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzcWaLH3mx7HUKh4OF7bYPA

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