7.31.12 Spotted Wing Drosophila Alert

Dear Blueberry Growers,

Many of you have started harvesting. The spotted wing drosophila has been found strawberry and raspberry fields in southern Maine so far, especially in the vicinity of Warren, where one trap in a strawberry field contained 98 SWD flies.

We are trapping 30 blueberry fields and found one SWD fly in a trap in a Franklin blueberry field, in the forest edge.

So, please be vigilant and keep trapping for this potentially devastating pest. I will provide an update when we trap more flies.

– Frank Drummond