Evaluating Drosophila suzukii immunomarking for mark‐capture research

Abstract

Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) utilizes ‘Himalaya’ blackberry, Rubus armeniacus Focke (Rosaceae), as a host and may invade berry and stone fruit crops from field margins containing this invasive weed. Laboratory and semi‐field studies were conducted to determine (1) the persistence of protein marks including 10% chicken egg whites (egg albumin protein), 20% bovine milk (milk casein protein), and 20% soy milk (soy trypsin inhibitor protein) on topically sprayed D. suzukii, (2) protein retention on blackberry leaves, and (3) D. suzukii acquisition of protein after exposure to marked blackberry leaves for up to 14 days after application. All flies and leaves were assayed for the presence of the protein marks using protein‐specific enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. Egg albumin, milk casein, and soy trypsin proteins persisted on 94, 49, and 25% of the topically marked D. suzukii, respectively, throughout the 14‐day study period. Egg albumin was retained on 100% of treated leaves for 14 days, regardless of environmental conditions. At least 50% of flies exposed residually to egg albumin‐treated leaves were marked for 3 days, regardless of exposure time and environmental conditions. However, increasing fly exposure time to treated leaves in April and June appeared to improve protein mark acquisition. Acquisition of protein by flies from treated leaves for milk casein was inconsistent, and poor for soy trypsin, despite detectable levels on treated leaves. Egg albumin had the longest and most consistent persistence on flies, leaves, and flies exposed to leaves in laboratory and semi‐field studies, under a variety of environmental conditions and exposure times.

Development of a standardized protein immunomarking protocol for insect mark–capture dispersal research

“…Klick et al. () also showed high variability in protein acquisition by spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii Matsumura, exposed to protein‐treated blackberry leaf tissue. That study reported that flies rapidly acquired and retained egg white, but not bovine milk and soy milk markers.…”

“…; Klick et al. ). However, if three marks are needed for a particular study, our data suggest that we could mark about 90% of the resident target population with a 10, 66 and 33% concentration of egg white, bovine milk and soy milk, respectively.…”

“…; Klick et al. ). Whether large‐scale commercial spray rigs are as effective at uniformly distributing protein throughout the landscape as the portable backpack sprayer used here is another area for future research.…”

“…; Hagler and Jones ; Klick et al. ). Hence, the goal of this study was to standardize the various protein marking protocols so that the same fraction of the targeted insect populations are marked regardless of which protein is used.…”

Seasonal and regional presence of hymenopteran parasitoids of Drosophila in Switzerland and their ability to parasitize the invasive Drosophila suzukii

“…. These habitats may play an important role for the population dynamics of D. suzukii as they can serve as reservoirs for the recolonization of crops after the application of insecticides and provide shelter for the flies during unfavourable weather conditions4546. Further studies are required to investigate their relative importance for D. suzukii and the community of potential natural enemies to assess the impact of management actions.…”