This announcement is also posted with color pictures on the Highmoor Farm Spotted Wing Drosophila web blog at https://extension.umaine.edu/highmoor/blog/tag/spotted-wing-drosophila/, where you can subscribe to updates. Please keep us abreast of any email address changes. Thank you.
SPOTTED WING DROSOPHILA ALERT: OCTOBER 10, 2017
David Handley, Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist; James Dill, Pest Management Specialist; Frank Drummond, Professor of Insect Ecology/Entomology
Spotted wing drosophila numbers increased significantly at some of the trapping sites this week, although there doesn’t seem to be a pattern to those increases geographically. (See table below.) Fly numbers at other locations remained relatively stable or had slight decreases. However, all sites are still well over the threshold for infestation if fruit are left untreated. We have had several calls over the past two weeks regarding late ripening fruit (strawberries and elderberries) being infested with larvae. Therefore, growers who still have ripening fruit should continue to protect their crop on a spray interval of 5 to 7 days to prevent fruit from becoming infested It is also important to keep wounded and rotten fruit out of the field as much as possible. Allowing it to stay on the plant or on the ground will attract more flies and provide food and shelter for more eggs and larvae. With the long-term forecasts predicting continued warmer than normal temperatures, it is likely that spotted wing drosophila will continue to threaten late ripening berries.
For more information on identifying spotted wing drosophila and updates on populations around the state, visit our SWD blog at: http://umaine.edu/highmoor/blog/tag/spotted-wing-drosophila/.
David T. Handley
Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist
Highmoor Farm Pest Management Office
P.O. Box 179 491 College Avenue
Monmouth, ME 04259 Orono, ME 04473
207.933.2100 1.800.287.0279
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Town
Spotted Wing Drosophila weekly trap catch 9/22/17
Spotted Wing Drosophila weekly trap catch 9/29/17
Spotted Wing Drosophila weekly trap catch 10/6/17
Wells
45
527
567
Limington
373
80
87
Limerick
174
799
1808
Cape Elizabeth
879
204
124
New Gloucester
341
259
209
Bowdoinham
264
746
563
Dresden
554
2064
4376
Freeport
359
111
133
Poland Spring
1866
2608
440
Mechanic Falls
113
51
55
Monmouth
63
1624
4696
Wales
104
450
343
Farmington
286
440
7568