Potential Drosophila Find in Washington

There is potential evidence of spotted wing drosophila (SWD) at the Washington State University Research Farm in Puyallup, just south of Seattle. Damage consistent with that found in California this year was found on raspberries and strawberries, according to Wendy Hoashi-Erhardt, a scientific assistant in WSU’s Small Fruit Breeding Program.

Samples of the damaged fruit have been sent off to a lab for definitive identification. In addition to the suspicious damage on late season raspberries and day neutral strawberries, adult males with the characteristic black spots on their wings have been seen on and around fruiting plants, and larvae are present in a high percentage of fruit, Hoashi-Erhardt reported in the summer issue of the British Columbia Raspberry Industry Development Council’s newsletter.

SWD was found to be doing widespread damage this summer to California cherries, raspberries and strawberries, spurring a series of emergency meetings.