Spread of the spotted wing drosophila – Drosophila suzukii (Diptera, Drosophlidae) and new distribution records in Dalmatia region of Croatia

Abstract

A specific survey for the detection of Drosophila suzukii Matsmura 1931 (Diptera, Drosophilidae) in Dalmatia region of the Republic of Croatia during 2013, confirmed that the pest is present and widespread. Adults were detected in traps suspended in Prunus cerasus L. (sour cherry), Prunus persica L. (peach), Ficus carica L. (fig) and Morus alba L. (mulberry) orchards and individual trees, during the fruit maturation period, in 16 (of the 51 locations) where traps were placed in Dubrova cko-neretvanska, Splitsko-dalmatinska,Sibenskokninska and Zadarska counties. This confirmed the rapid spread of D. suzukii in Croatia and this pest is a great concern for areas that are not yet infested that have favourable conditions for the pests' development. The results of the survey highlight the importance of the development and implementation of long-term sustainable control.

New finding sites of Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931) in perennial crops of Zagreb County

“…al., 2019). The results of this study confirmed the presence of D. suzuki in orchards and vineyards in Zagreb County and since the species is well-spread in Croatia (Bjeliš et al, 2015 andMasten Milek et al, 2015) these data were expected. This pest is marked on the A2 list of quarantine pests in the EPPO region (EPPO, 2018) so determination of its presence and population abundance in new areas is of utmost importance.…”

“…Furthermore, the presence of pest was confirmed in cities Šibenik, Knin, as well as in Split Dalmatian and Dubrovnik Neretva County (Bjeliš et al, 2015;Masten Milek et al, 2015 Contrary to most other vinegar flies, D. suzukii lays eggs and feeds on undamaged ripening fruit of many plant species making infested fruit unmarketable (De Ros et al, 2015). Market zero tolerance to insect infestation of the fresh thin-skinned fruit is resulting in fruit growers having to make major efforts to control D. suzukii (Cuthbertson et al, 2014).…”

“…Although D. suzukii is widespread in Croatia (Bjeliš et al, 2015;Masten Milek et al, 2015) its presence in continental part of Croatia was poorly explored. Bjeliš et al (2015) investigated its presence during the spring and summer season in orchards and individual host trees in Dalmatia region but similar investigations in orchards in the continental part of Croatia (e.g. Zagreb county) has never been carried out so far.…”

The development of drosophilid species (Diptera, Drosophilidae) in different strawberry cultivars

“…In Croatia, D. suzukii was first recorded in 2010 on raspberry (Rubus idaeus L. 1753), peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch 1801) and grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) and since then the pest has spread on new cultivated and wild host plants (Masten Milek et al, 2011;Bjeliš et al, 2015).…”

Development of spotted wing drosophila in fruits of two raspberry cultivars

“…Today, D. suzukii is found in all European countries (Cini et al, 2012, Dos Santos et al, 2017 and its rapid spread poses a challenge for scientists worldwide and requires constant studies of its biology, ecology and host preferences in order to develop and implement a long-term protection program based on environmentally friendly and sustainable protection (Bjeliš et al, 2015).…”