Using red panel traps to detect spotted-wing drosophila and its infestation in us berry and cherry crops

Authors: PANTHI, BABU - University Of Georgia; Cloonan, Kevin; RODRIGUEZ-SAONA, CESAR - Rutgers University; KIRKPATRICK, DANIELLE - Trece, Inc; SHORT, BRENT - Trece, Inc; AFLITTO, NICHOLAS - Cornell University; ANDREWS, HEATHER - Oregon State University; BALLMAN, ELISSA - University Of Maine; BEAL, DYLAN - Washington State University; BEERS, ELIZABETH - Washington State University

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/16/2022
Publication Date: 10/9/2022
Citation: Panthi, B., Cloonan, K.R., Rodriguez-Saona, C., Kirkpatrick, D.M., Short, B.D., Aflitto, N.C., Andrews, H., Ballman, E., Beal, D.J., Beers, E.H. 2022. Using red panel traps to detect spotted-wing drosophila and its infestation in us berry and cherry crops. Journal of Economic Entomology. 115:(6), 1995-2003. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toac134.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toac134

Interpretive Summary: The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD) is an invasive pest of thin-skinned fruits in the U.S., including blueberry, cherry, raspberry, and blackberry. Growers and practitioners currently rely on Deli-cup-based liquid traps, along with a variety of homemade baits and commercial lures, to monitor adult populations. Captures with these liquid traps require extensive sorting in order to distinguish SWD from other flies and non-target insects. This time-consuming process makes it challenging for growers and practitioners to quickly identify SWD in the field. Therefore, researchers from several universities, the USDA-ARS, and industry conducted field research to evaluate a red-panel sticky trap as a potentially more user-friendly trap for monitoring SWD. Standard Deli-cup-based liquid traps were compared with red-panel sticky traps baited with different commercially available lures (Scentry, Trécé Broad-Spectrum, and Trécé High-Specificity) in several states and fruit crops. All field tests indicated that the red-panel traps effectively captured SWD and specifically detected male SWD early in the season, a reliable indicator of fruit infestation. In general, the Scentry and Trécé Broad-Spectrum lures were equally attractive to SWD, although the Trécé Broad-Spectrum and Trécé High-Specificity lures were more selective for males when deployed in red-panel traps. This information will benefit growers and practitioners in identifying the best SWD trapping system suited for their unique situation.

Technical Abstract: Spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), is an invasive pest of thin-skinned fruits in the United States. Monitoring traps are an integral part of SWD integrated pest management, allowing early detection and timely management of this pest. An ideal monitoring trap should be easy to use, effective in capturing SWD, sensitive and selective to male SWD which are easy to identify due to their spotted wings, and able to predict fruit infestation from trap captures. Deli-cup-based liquid traps (grower standard), which make in-situ observations difficult, were compared with red-panel sticky traps, both baited with commercial lures (Scentry, Trécé Broad-Spectrum (BS), and Trécé High-Specificity (HS)), across several US states in blueberries (lowbush, highbush, and rabbiteye), caneberries (blackberry and raspberry), and cherry crops during 2018 and 2021. Results showed that red-panel traps effectively captured SWD, were able to detect male SWD early in the season while also being selective to male SWD all season-long, and linearly related male SWD trap captures with fruit infestation. Although Scentry and Trécé BS lures were equally effective, Trécé BS and Trécé HS were more selective for male SWD in red panel traps than liquid traps. In conclusion, due to its ease of use with less processing time, red-panel trap are a promising tool for detecting and identifying male SWD in-situ and for predicting fruit infestation. However, further research is needed to refine the trap captures and fruit infestation relationship and elucidate the trap-lure interactions in berry and cherry crops.