Population Dynamics of Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura)) in Maine Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton)

Abstract

A long-term investigation of D. suzukii dynamics in wild blueberry fields from 2012–2018 demonstrates relative abundance is either still increasing or exhibiting periodicity seven years after the initial invasion. Relative abundance is determined by physiological date of first detection and air temperatures the previous winter. Date of first detection of flies does not determine date of fruit infestation. The level of fruit infestation is determined by year, fly pressure, and insecticide application frequency. Frequency of insecticide application is determined by production system. Non-crop wild fruit and predation influences fly pressure; increased wild fruit abundance results in increased fly pressure. Increased predation rate reduces fly pressure, but only at high abundance of flies, or when high levels of wild fruit are present along field edges. Male sex ratio might be declining over the seven years. Action thresholds were developed from samples of 92 fields from 2012–2017 that related cumulative adult male trap capture to the following week likelihood of fruit infestation. A two-parameter gamma density function describing this probability was used to develop a risk-based gradient action threshold system. The action thresholds were validated from 2016–2018 in 35 fields and were shown to work well in two of three years (2016 and 2017).