This is the first time this protocol has been implemented, and its purpose is to monitor the presence of Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) at WWR. The SWD is a species of fruit fly that negatively impacts the fields of WWR, and its potential impact on the ranch depends on the type of plants along the nearby riparian zones. What makes the fly problematic is that, unlike most fruit flies, it prefers to put its larvae into fresh fruits rather than rotten ones which makes those fruits unsellable. The SWD is attracted by the blackberries, Oregon Grape, and other berry-bearing fruits in the nearby riparian and forested areas, in which they work their way to ruining the blueberry fields. There are currently fly traps set up along the perimeter of the blueberry fields and what we do is check every trap for SWD as well as record them on a data sheet. The goal of this is to get an idea of where the SWD are at in the surrounding area so that we can prevent the population from spreading further.
Results:
For the majority of the SWD surveillance, we found minimal amounts of Drosophila. In total there were four SWD that were identified, two on May 4th, 2018 and two on May 11th, 2018. These SWD were found accordingly: 1 in cup 28, 1 in cup 30, and 2 in cup 6. These cups are all found on the South side of the farm nearest to the Mckenzie River. This is most likely due to the fact that SWD are attracted to cooler climates that are found near rivers which our data supports. With only four confirmed sightings of SWD, there’s no need for alarm or any sudden changes.
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