A tiny fruit fly is causing big problems for farmers across America.
The Spotted Wing Drosophila is a small fly — only an eighth of an inch in size. Native to Asia, the SWD was first discovered in California in 2008. Since then, the fly has caused over $500 million in agricultural damage every year.
To combat these flies specifically, the U.S. Department of Agriculture just approved a potential prevention method: the Samba Wasp. Like the SWD, the Samba Wasp is tiny — just 1 millimeter long. The wasp lays its eggs within SWD larvae, preventing new SWD growth.
It seems to be working.
In 2023, researchers at Michigan State University released nearly 40,000 wasps at fruit farms throughout Michigan and saw a significant reduction in SWD numbers, according to Good Fruit. They even recovered wasps, meaning the wasps were persisting in the new environment.
The fly's reproductive ability is its biggest threat — adult females can lay up to 600 eggs in their lifetime, which ranges from three to nine weeks.
The eggs, which are laid in the fruit, take only hours to hatch into larvae. Larvae continue to eat and damage the fruit for around two weeks, when they will then emerge as adults. Late Summer — August and September — sees the greatest number of these flies emerge.
Adult flies feast on thin-skinned fruits such as blueberries, cherries, and raspberries, exposing the fruit to rot, bacteria, and other pests. The damage can be devastating, causing farmers to spend extra on specific pesticides to protect their crops.
Researchers are constantly coming up with new, sustainable ways to combat pests, such as using drones to detect invasive stink bugs or microwaves to kill underground pests in the soil.
Michigan farmer Luke DeHaan was optimistic in his interview with The Pinnacle Gazette, saying: "If there's something that can be used biologically to take care of this pest, it's a win for everybody."
It's a win for farmers, whose crops are safer with the introduction of the wasp. It's a win for consumers, too, as there are fewer pesticides involved in the production of fruits. And it's a win for entomologists, as this exciting new development opens the way for further research on effective pest management.
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