California Ag Network

Tag: Spotted Wing Drosophila

  • Thirteen UC Davis Scientists Contribute to Special Journal Edition on Spotted-Wing Drosophila

    Thirteen UC Davis scientists or former affiliates are among authors from eight countries who contributed to research articles for the Journal of Economic Entomology’s Special Collection: Research Advances in Spotted-Wing Drosophila suzukii Management.

    The recently published Special Collection showcases 14 articles.

    Native to Asia, the agricultural pest is a worldwide threat to the berry production industry, which includes raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and cherries. The tiny insect, about 1/12 to 1/8 inch long, invaded the continental United States in 2008.

    “All of the papers were by invitation of the co-editors of the special collection—Jana Lee, Cesar Rodrigue-Saona, and me,” said journal editor-in-chief Frank Zalom, a UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus and recall professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology. Zalom’s research includes the spotted-wing drosophila.

    Lee, formerly with the UC Davis laboratory of the late chemical ecologist Steve Seybold, is a research entomologist with the Horticultural Crops Research Unit,  U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Corvallis. Rodriguez-Saona, who received his doctorate from UC Riverside, is an Extension entomologist with the Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey.

    In addition to Zalom and Lee, the UC Davis-linked authors include Joanna Chiu and Antoine Abrieux (Joanna Chiu lab); Zain Syed and Kevin Cloonan (Walter Leal lab); Gregory Loeb (Rick Karban lab); and Kelly Hamby, Hannah Burrack, Fatemeh Ganjisaffar, Brian Gress, Nicole Nicola and Mark Demkovich (Zalom lab).

    Overall, the Special Collection includes authors from Austria, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States that represent perspectives from universities, federal and state laboratories, growers, and pest product companies, according to the editors.

    One paper, Spatio-temporal Variation of Spinosad Susceptibility in Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), a Three-year Study in California’s Monterey Bay Region, is from the Zalom lab and includes co-author, molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and vice chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology.

    The work of molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is included in the Journal of Economic Entomology’s special collection targeting research on the spotted-wing drosophila. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

    UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology communication specialist Kathy Keatley Garvey provided the cover photo of the spotted-wing drosophila feeding on a raspberry.

    Since 2008, “D. suzukii has become a key economical pest of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and cherries in the United States and worldwide,” the editors wrote in their introductory remarks. “Not surprisingly, the number of publications has proliferated from 29 publications as of 2010 to 978 additional publications between 2011 and 2021 from a Web of Science search for ‘Drosophila suzukii.’ While many publications are available, this special collection will highlight advances in D. suzukii pest management since its U.S. invasion. We solicited papers by open call and received 66 abstracts, and selected 14 papers covering: 1) review, 2) monitoring and risk, 3) behavioral control, 4) biological control, 5) cultural control, and 6) chemical control.”

    The collection is meant to serve “as a key reference point for entomologists across many institutions (e.g., academia, government, and industry) on important advances in D. suzukii pest management,” according to the Entomological Society of America. “The articles in this collection will also provide scientists information on potential research gaps that will help guide future research directions on this important pest. The goal is to preserve and catalog articles on various aspects of D. suzukii pest management, i.e., monitoring, cultural control, chemical control, behavioral control, and biological control, that will be shared among entomologists.”

  • An Organic Alternative to Combatting Spotted Wing Drosophila

    Scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are working to understand how something can be equally effective as both a government-approved food additive and as a pesticide.

    Methyl benzoate is a naturally occurring compound produced by plants. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration long ago approved methyl benzoate for human use; its fruity and floral aroma makes it a staple in perfumes and cosmetics and as a food additive. Nature employs it to attract pollinators.

    While many insects find methyl benzoate appealing, Aijun Zhang, research chemist at the ARS Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory in Beltsville, MD, is investigating why some insects and non-insect pests find it revolting.

    From left, research chemist Aijun Zhang, postdoctoral Nick Larson, and intern Lauryn Brooks demonstrated research into methyl benzoate uses as a pesticide in an ARS poster day demonstration.

    Zhang’s research has focused on methyl benzoate’s utility as a pesticide for human protection and crop protection. So far, Zhang has documented that the compound will kill or repel many insects in various stages of development, including mosquitoes, bed bugs, fire ants, ticks, flies, moths, and the brown marmorated stink bug. Perhaps most important, however, is its ability to repel and kill the spotted wing drosophila fly (SWD). “SWD is the most significant invasive insect pest of soft-skinned fruit crops in the USA,” Zhang said.

    Since SWD was first detected in California a little over a decade ago, the fly has become a key pest in blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and cherries. These crops have a combined annual value of over $5.8 billion, and farmers lose about $718 million annually to SWD damage.

    Farmers fight SWD with synthetic insecticides, but at prices up to $1,200 per acre, that method is expensive. It is costly in other ways, too, Zhang said; the synthetic insecticide is harmful to the environment, contributes to pesticide resistance, and may be harmful to humans.

    Because methyl benzoate is an environmentally friendly, bio-based compound, Zhang thinks it has great potential to be used by people for human protection as an alternative to synthetic pesticides. It also costs much less than synthetic pesticide treatments.

    According to Zhang, methyl benzoate shares the same “chemical skeleton” as DEET, the gold standard in arthropod repellency, a detail that is leading future research efforts.

    “Understanding the structure-activity relationship will allow researchers to modify the chemical structure of the methyl benzoate molecule to develop pesticides that are more efficient at controlling arthropod pests,” he said. — By Scott Elliott, USDA-ARS Office of Communications.