- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
- Author: Elaine Lander
We don't often find flies such a popular topic of conversation, but given recent events, we'd like to seize the moment to share some science-based information about their status as both pests and beneficial insects.
Flies can be nuisance insects both indoors and outdoors. There are many species of flies in California with some being more problematic than others. In UC IPM's publication Pest Notes: Flies, the authors provide information about identification, habitat, damage, and management of several common flies including house flies and face flies.
You may be surprised to learn that some flies are actually beneficial insects. Many flies in the...
As cherries begin to ripen on backyard fruit trees, you'll want to monitor the fruit for pests, especially an invasive species called the spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii).
The spotted wing drosophila (SWD) is a new pest to California (since 2008). It's a small fly that attacks ripening cherries, and may also attack ripening raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, and strawberry crops, especially in coastal areas. When conditions are right, the fly can also attack soft-fleshed fruit such as plums, plumcots, nectarines, and figs.
If your cherry tree has SWD, you might notice that fruit flesh has one or more small punctures or “stings” on the surface. These symptoms are evidence of the eggs laid...
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
In observance of National Pollinator Week, we thought we'd share how you can manage pests around your home, garden, and landscape and still protect pollinators.
Natural enemies (predators, parasites, and pathogens) reduce pest populations and help prevent damage to plants. Pollinators such as domesticated honey bees, wild bees, and other pollinating insects, are essential in the production of many of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts we grow in California, both in our backyards and in commercial agriculture.
Natural enemies and pollinators can be harmed by pesticides...
- Author: Mary Louise Flint
[From March 2013 issue of the Retail Nursery and Garden Center IPM News.]
Spotted winged drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, is a fruit fly that first arrived in California in the late 2000s and now is present throughout most of the state (Figure 1). It can attack various berry crops including strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries; however, in backyards most complaints come from gardeners who grow cherries.
Unlike other fruit flies that attack fruit only after it has ripened and is starting to deteriorate, SWD attacks healthy fruit on the tree...
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