Whos been-eating-my-strawberries-jul17
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Transcript of Whos been-eating-my-strawberries-jul17
Who‘s been eatingMY Strawberries?!
Dr Chris Thomas
Quekett Microscopical Club
www.quekett.org
This is a talk about invaders!
Drosophila suzukiiSpotted Wing Drosophila, SWD
Suzuki
D. suzukii
30% to 80% Soft fruit crop losses
This apparentlyinsignificant, 3 mm long fly is causingdignificant damageto soft fruit and hasrecently entered theUK in 2012
Timeline of Global Domination
Japan 1930
N.America2012
California2008
Spain/Italy2008
Hawaii1980
UK2012
Fruit Fly/Vinegar Fly
UK Drosophila sp. 1 mm
This is thecommonversion of the fruit flywe find in our gardensand homes, buzzingaround fruit
Male SWD
Male SWD‘s are immediately recogniseable under a handlens, having the distinctive single black wing spots
Female SWD
The female lacks the wings spots but …
Female SWD
It sports a large, serrated, egg laying ovipositor
Female SWD Ovipositor
Damage
When you think SWD, think insect with a chainsaw that cuts into ripeningfruit and lays ist eggs inside them – then think – Millions of them!
Commercial Control of SWD
• MONITOR
• IDENTIFY
• CONTROL
– Tidiness
– Insecticide
– Parasitoids
Gardens – Alternative
Reservoirs?
What any Member of theQuekett Microscopical Clubcan do (and schools too!)
Our Skills
• Skilled at capturing small subjects
• Skilled at looking at small subjects
• Skilled at Recording and Sharing information
• Members throughout UK (and world!)
• Have our own publication – The Journal
Step forward please to
• Set a Fruit fly/Vinegar Fly trap thisOctober
• Record your catch
• Send your results to [email protected]
• I‘ll collate and write up the results
• You will be credited in the paper.
Population growth
From Report:
Understanding and developing methods for managing spotted wing drosophila (SWD) in the UK: Vital research to maintain the viability of the UK fruit Industry
Michelle Fountain/ Jerry Cross, East MallingResearch, New Road, East Malling, Kent ME19 6BJ
Trapping SWD1. Cider vinegar in plastic bottle
2. Add a drop of Fairy Liquid
3. Pierce bottle with 2-3mm diameter holes
4. Hang in garden for 1 week
5. Pour contents into a white plastictub
6. Observe & record using Low power microscope/magnifiers/camera/smartphone
Typical catch
Result Format
• Send me list with the following:
– Your name and address/postcode
– Date your fly trap harvested
– Total number of insects trapped
– Number of Fruit flies/Vinegar flies
– Number of MALE SWD
– Number of FEMALE SWD
Results
• 32 locations
• 51 sets data
• Included 1 school!
• Between 0 – 100s Fruit flies per record
SWD v
Other Fruit
flies
(%)
A. Average of numbers of fruit flies and SWD harvested in each region.
B. Averages of the percentage of SWD in each harvest.
The diameter of each circle isproportional to average SWD harvest in each region.
Male:Female
SWD (%)
A. The total numbers of males and female SWD harvested in each region.
B. Averages of the percent of males and females for each individual harvest.
The diameter of each circle isproportional to average SWD harvest in each region.
Lessons Learnt
• Great participation (10% QuekettMembers)
• Regional UK Bias to Central & Eastern England
• Reliable records
• Need more data for significant results
Future• Repeat
• Engage The North! (And the world)
• Aim to involve schools
• Open to advice and suggestions
NEW CITIZEN SCIENCE
Following on after the conference, I was inspired to set up a citizen science project on www.iNaturalist.org
‘The Quekett Spotted Wing DrosphilaSurvey Experiment’
You are heartily invited to join in at
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/quekett-spotted-wing-drosophila-survey-experiment