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National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Home / Terrestrial Invasives / Terrestrial Invertebrates / Spotted Wing Drosophila

Spotted Wing Drosophila

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Spotted wing drosophila
Spotted wing drosophila, adult male - Photo by Hannah Burrack; North Carolina State University
Scientific Name: 
Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931) (CABI)
Common Name: 
Spotted wing drosophila, cherry vinegar fly
Native To: 
Presumed to be Asia (Adrion et al. 2014)
Date of U.S. Introduction: 
Hawaii in 1980s; continental U.S. in 2008 (Asplen et al. 2015)
Means of Introduction: 
Possibly in fruits imported from Asia (Rota-Stabelli et al. 2013)
Impact: 
Pest of unripe berries and stone fruits capable of causing significant economic losses (Asplen et al. 2015)

Spotlights

APHIS Publishes Environmental Assessment on Release of Ganaspis brasiliensis for the Biological Control of Spotted-Wing Drosophila (Jul 16, 2021)

USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

APHIS has prepared an environmental assessment for permitting the release of the insect Ganaspis brasiliensis for the biological control of spotted-wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) in the continental United States. Based on the environmental assessment (EA) and other relevant data, the agency has reached a preliminary determination that the release of this control agent within the continental United States will not have a significant impact on the environment. The proposed action is intended to reduce the severity of damage to small fruit crops from infestations of spotted-wing Drosophila (SWD) in the continental United States. SWD is native to East Asia and was first detected in the United States in California in 2008. It has since established in most fruit-growing regions in North America.

APHIS is making the environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment. All comments received on or before August 16, 2021 will be considered. To review the environmental assessment and make comments, go to www.regulations.gov.

Vinegar Fly’s Lethal Sweet Tooth (Feb 2017)
USDA. ARS. Agricultural Research Magazine.
A novel control strategy could be in store for spotted wing drosophila, an invasive vinegar fly species from Asia that attacks more than 100 fruit crops, including blueberry, cherry, blackberry, and grape. Two- to three-millimeters long, the spotted wing drosophila fly first drew attention in 2008 in California. Before long, it had spread to other western states, inflicting losses of 50 to 100 percent in berry crops there. Two years later, it had spread to the eastern United States, wreaking similar havoc and forcing growers to retaliate with intensive insecticide spraying. Researchers, meanwhile, began learning all they could about the invader. One such scientist is Blair Sampson, an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist who specializes in integrated pest management approaches for small-fruit crops. Sampson is with the ARS Thad Cochran Southern Horticultural Laboratory in Poplarville, Mississippi.

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS) - Spotted Wing Drosophila
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Provides state, county, point and GIS data. Maps can be downloaded and shared.
Eastern Spotted Wing Drosophila Volunteer Monitoring Network
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System.
Pest Tracker - Survey Status of Spotted Wing Drosophila
USDA. APHIS. Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey. National Agricultural Pest Information System.

Images

Google Images - Spotted Wing Drosophila
Google.
Invasive.org - Spotted Wing Drosophila
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
PaDIL - Spotted-Wing Drosophila
Australian Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre. Pests and Diseases Image Library.

Videos

YouTube - Spotted Wing Drosophila in Small Fruits
Google. YouTube; Purdue Extension Entomology.

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Spotted Wing Drosophila.

Council or Task Force
Priority Species: Spotted Wing Drosophila

Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. Washington Invasive Species Council.

Partnership
Invasive Species Compendium - Drosophila suzukii
CAB International.
New York Invasive Species Information - Spotted Wing Drosophila
New York Invasive Species Clearinghouse.
Regional Pest Alert: Spotted Wing Drosophila

North Central Integrated Pest Management Center.

See also: Spotted Wing Drosophila in the Northeast for more resources

Spotted-Winged Drosophila

Plant Health Australia.

Sustainable Spotted Wing Drosophila Management
Sustainable Spotted Wing Drosophila Management.
A national team of scientists, with support from the USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative, that seeks to advance the development of sustainable, integrated management strategies for spotted wing drosophila, SWD, based on biology.
TISI Inventory - Spotted Wing Drosophila
Texas State University System. Texas Invasive Species Institute.
Federal Government
Pest Alert: Drosophila suzukii (Spotted Wing) (Mar 2010) (PDF | 641 KB)
USDA. APHIS. Plant Protection and Quarantine.
See also: APHIS Pests and Diseases for more resources
International Government
Insect Pests and Plant Diseases: Spotted Wing Drosophila
New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (Australia).
Spotted Wing Drosophila (Fruit Fly) Pest Alert
British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture.
State and Local Government
Pest Alert: Spotted Wing Drosophila (Jul 2016) (PDF | 1.94 MB)
Oregon Department of Agriculture.
See also: Pest Alerts for more pests
Pest Alert: Spotted Wing Drosophila (Aug 2009) (PDF | 363 KB)

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Division of Plant Industry.

See also: Plant Industry Pest Alerts for more pests

Insect Pests & Diseases - Spotted Wing Drosophila
Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Academic
Utah Pests Fact Sheet - Spotted Wing Drosophila (Sep 2017) (PDF | 2.04 MB)

Utah State University Extension; Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Laboratory.

See also: Fact Sheets - Small Fruit Insects for more species

Biology, Identification and Management of Spotted Wing Drosophila (PDF | 363 KB)
University of Arkansas. Cooperative Extension Service.
See also: Fruits, Nuts, & Vegetables - Insect Management in Arkansas for more factsheets
Cornell Fruit Resources: Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD)

Cornell University.

Invasive Pests: Spotted Wing Drosophila
University of Massachusetts Extension. Fruit Program.
Orchard Pest Management - Spotted Wing Drosophila
Washington State University. Tree Fruit Research and Extension.
Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Management Handbook - Spotted-wing Drosophila: An Emerging Berry and Stone Fruit Pest

Oregon State University. Extension Service.

Spotted Wing Drosophila

Michigan State University. Integrated Pest Management Program.

The Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) is a vinegar fly of East Asian origin that can cause damage to many fruit crops. This small insect has been in Hawaii since the 1980s, was detected in California in 2008, spread through the West Coast in 2009, and was detected in Florida, Utah, the Carolinas, Wisconsin and Michigan for the first time in 2010. This website will be the central location for dissemination of information about this insect. Check back for updates. This team is also helping to coordinate research projects to understand how best to protect fruit from infestation by this new pest.

Spotted Wing Drosophila in Home Gardens

University of Minnesota. Extension.

Spotted Wing Drosophila in Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin - Madison. Department of Entomology.

Spotted Wing Drosophila, Biology, Identification & Monitoring
University of Kentucky. College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment. Entomology.
See also: Spotted Wing Drosophila Management

Citations