Preliminary study on the occurrence of Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in the municipality of Farroupilha, Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

Fruit flies are among the most important pests to growing fruit. In the last three decades, Drosophila suzukii, found in municipalities of Serra Gaúcha, due to the presence of plant species native from Asia, also known as the spotted wing fly, due to the presence of dark spots on the tip of the male wings. This invader is a potential pest, due to its capacity of reproduction in healthy fruit during maturation, when the tegument is fragile, proning to deterioration and the exposure of the fruit to secondary pathogenicity. Currently the Serra Gaúcha is an important pole of fruit production, thus relating this species to local agricultural losses and economic burden. The present study was developed in the city of Farroupilha, in the Serra Gaúcha, with the accomplishment of exploratory research, in order to verify the presence of Drosophila suzukii. The samples were collected using two methods: a direct method with nets over banana fermented baits or over rotten fruit and an indirect one, by using fly traps which contained a mixture of 70% of red wine vinegar and 30% of water. The collected specimens were taken to a laboratory in the Campus da Região dos Vinhedos of the University of Caxias do Sul for identification with the help of stereoscopic microscope and for subsequent quantification.