Past, present and future of Drosophila suzukii: distribution, impact and management in United States berry fruits

Drosophila suzukii, spotted wing drosophila (SWD), is a key insect pest threatening the long-term sustainable production of commercial small fruits in the United States of America and Europe. Fruit damage because of SWD larval development has resulted in a major change in current production practices of berry fruit in the USA and Europe. These changes have resulted in significant increases in production costs of berry fruit. D. suzukii is highly adaptable and can be found to survive in a range of climates as represented by key production regions. Extensive studies have been conducted on monitoring techniques. However, trapping and fruit monitoring provide limited value as early warning tools. Population estimation has resulted in an additional tool that may be used to direct timing and impact of different management techniques. Current biological control studies using pupal and larval parasitoids are emerging. These studies, however, show limited impact of endemic parasitoids in affected production regions so far. Studies in native regions of D. suzukii occurrence indicate the promise of future use of parasitoids from the fly's native range.