Oregon scientists seek defense against crop-destroying fruit flies

[depakid]

Oregon State University entomologist Amy Dreves checks a trap at a blueberry farm near Corvallis. She can look at a strip with 100 flies and know in a few seconds if there are any spotted wing Drosophila present.
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It's a tiny fruit fly with an exotic name and a taste for some of Oregon's most valuable crops. And since its surprise and destructive appearance last August, the state's leading entomologists have been engaged in a frantic, crash course to find it, understand it and control it.

It's too late, experts say, to wipe it out.

The spotted wing Drosophila, -- Drosophila suzukii, to be formal -- is probably here to stay. Its arrival slams home the hard truth about the risk that accompanies international trade and travel. The more goods and people cross borders, the more likely that invasive pests will come along for the ride.

The spotted wing is a native of Asia -- Japan's farmers have battled it since 1916 -- that appeared in California in 2008 and quickly migrated to Oregon and Washington. Named for the distinctive spot at the tip of males' wings, the fly is unusual because it attacks ripe and ripening fruit. Most fruit flies go after overripe or damaged produce.

The female, equipped with an unusual serrated-edge ovipositor, cuts into the skin and deposits one to three eggs. The eggs poke a pair of tiny breathing tubes through the surface and feed on the fruit from the inside as they develop into maggots. Within a few days, healthy fruit collapses into a gooey mess.

Katy Coba, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, calls it the "Dracula" fruit fly. "It's so new that we're trying not to panic, but we're very, very concerned," she says.

With good reason. West Coast farmers produce 76 percent of the nation's raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and cherries. California researchers estimate that a 20 percent damage rate would cost West Coast farmers $511 million in lost crop value, including $31.4 million in Oregon.

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/03/oregon_scientists_seek_defense.html

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[NNadir]

2. That's terrible news. I had no idea that was happening.

[notesdev]

3. Solution

More high-school biology classes... I swear, my bio teacher was the bane of all fruit flies.