Population dynamics and ecology of Drosophila suzukii in Central California

Drosophila suzukii is a serious pest of several fruit crop systems in California’s Central Valley, which is one of the world’s major fruit-growing regions. This study followed D. suzukii seasonal population dynamics in multiple cropping and riparian systems in four cherry-producing counties of the Valley. Apple cider vinegar baited traps were used to monitor D. suzukii adults weekly, from April 2013 to July 2014, in 28 fields. Results show peak captures in the spring and fall seasons. In cherry orchards, adult trap counts were the highest near harvest (June) and declined thereafter, as fly populations moved to other crop (e.g., citrus) or noncrop habitats. The number of captured adults was positively related between pairs of sampled sites based on their proximity but was negatively related to differences in fruit ripening periods between different crops, suggesting that fly populations moved among crop and/or non-crop habitats during the year or had varying population dynamics on different crops and in different seasons. Mature egg load per female was higher during the fruiting season but lower during the winter season, with the majority of winter-captured females not containing mature eggs. This survey also reports for the first time the presence of trapped D. suzukii adults bearing melanized and encapsulated parasitoids in North America, non-target captures of larval drosophilid parasitoids in the traps, as well as the occurrence of larvae in the ovaries of adult female D. suzukii.