We need your help to identify spotted wing drosophila research and extension needs in the eastern US!

The rapid spread of spotted wing drosophila (SWD, Drosophila suzukii) in the eastern United States and the associated damage to berry crops has highlighted the need for research and education on this pest in east to compliment ongoing activities in the western US.

If you are a fruit grower, gardener, extension agent, crop consultant, fruit marketer, or have a stake in SWD management for another reason, please fill out the survey below by December 1, 2011. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to submit.

We need your input to be sure that the work we do meets your needs! To learn more about SWD in the southeast, see here.

Update
Thank you to all of you who shared your thoughts on spotted wing drosophila research needs!  We received 273 online submissions and 46 hard copy submissions.  I will be summarizing the results of this survey in the next few days.

North Carolina Entomological Society banquet this Friday

The North Carolina Entomological Society is holding its annual meeting and banquet this Friday, October 28th at the NC State University Arboretum.  Poster session and social hour begin at 5pm with the banquet starting at 6:30pm.  Our keynote speaker is author of the "Bug Man" novels and Cary, NC resident, Tim Downs.  

The Bug Man novels follow the exploits of a fictional forensic entomologist based in the very real North Carolina State University Department of Entomology!  Early registration is closed, but interested attendees can still register at the door ($35 for society members and guests, and $22 for students).  Contact Hannah Burrack (hannah_burrack@ncsu.edu) for further information.

It's meeting season!

The field season is reaching its end, and meeting season is set to begin!  I will have posts for each of the meetings where I will be presenting, but there's too many additional meetings to list separately!  Here are several of upcoming meetings, workshops, and conferences:

Pollinators
Pollinator conservation planning short course. Organized by Xerces Society. November 15th. Mills River, NC.
Pollinator conservation planning short course. Organized by Xerces Society. November 17th. Pittsboro, NC.

Strawberries
Southeast Strawberry Expo. Organized by the North Carolina Strawberry Association. November 6-8. Durham, NC.

Grapes
North Carolina Winegrape Growers Annual Conference. Organized by the North Carolina Winegrowers Association. February 3-5, 2012. I will be presenting at this meeting on November 5th.

General & sustainable agriculture

Rockingham County Small Farm Day. Organized by Rockingham County Cooperative Extension. November 5. I will be presenting at this meeting.

Sustainable Agriculture Conference. Organized by Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. November 11-13. Durham, NC. Including a session on hops production by Scott King, NCSU Soil Science Department.

Crop Protection School. Organized by the North Carolina State University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences. December 6. I will be presenting on spotted wing drososphila at this meeting as part of a session on new invasive species in North Carolina.

Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference. Organized by the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association. January 5-8, 2012. I will be presenting at this meeting on insect monitoring & management in muscadine grapes, spotted wing drosophila in blackberries & raspberries, and spotted wing drosophila in blueberries.  Whew!

Southeast Strawberry Expo fast approaching

The 2011 Southeast Strawberry Expo is just two short weeks way.  This year's expo is in Durham, NC and immediately precedes the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's Sustainable Agriculture Conference, also in Durham.

I will be presenting on when NOT to treat for insect and mite pests in strawberries.  This presentation will focus on identifying pest and beneficial arthropods and their damage, using treatment thresholds, and developing a monitoring program.  These are crucial skills for growers and homeowners alike, and I look forward to a lively session.  I speak on Monday, November 7th at 11am.

More information
North Carolina Strawberry Association

SWD trap captures in Ontario

Spotted wing drosophila trapping sites in Ontario, Canada. 2011.

Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) continues to appear in new and surprising places.  The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs has been monitoring 50 sites in 16 counties across Ontario, much like the SWD*VMN in the southeast.  SWD has now been detected at 21 of these monitoring locations, which new detections dramatically increasing in late September and early October, also similar to our detections in 2010 and 2011.

More information
Spotted wing drosophila - Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs

North Carolina & USDA to support SWD research

Female (left) and male (right) spotted wing drosophila flies on a raspberry at the Upper Mountain Research Station, Laurel Springs, NC.

We recently received word that the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program have funded our spotted wing drosophila (SWD) research for 2012.  Our work will focus on identifying preferred crop and non crop hosts, developing non chemical management tools, and determining the best strategy for using chemical management tools when necessary.  SWD is emerging as a significant pest of fruit in North Carolina and many other eastern states, so this research support comes at an important time.

We are also recruiting a graduate student to who will lead much of our work on SWD in the southeast.  Interest students are encouraged to contact Hannah.

More information
Fiscal Year 2011 Funded Projects - USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program
2011 Grant Awards - North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission

Spotted wing drosophila detected in Montana

Spotted wing drosophila has been confirmed in Montana.  See here for a factsheet detailing the find and for Montana contact information.

More information
First Detection of an Invasive Cherry Fruit Fly in Montana - Montana State University Ag Alert