Spotted Wing Drosophila Update #1

Thursday, August 1, 2019


Spotted wing Drosophila have been found from monitoring being done in Nova Scotia. If you have not already began trapping and plan to do so, you should be putting out traps as soon as possible.

Spotted Wing Drosophila are an invasive fruit fly species in Nova Scotia from Asia, and a major agricultural pest in caneberries and other soft fruit crops. Unlike most fruit flies that lay their eggs in rotting fruit, SWD lays its eggs in ripening or ripe fruit. When the SWD larvae emerges from the egg it feeds on the fruit causing them to deteriorate rapidly and become unmarketable. When not controlled SWD infestations can result in massive crop losses making monitoring and proper timing of controls crucial. 

For more information on monitoring and control options please refer to Raspberry Insect and Disease Management Guide 2019 and Monitoring for Spotted Wing Drosophila.