Warning: Dangerous Fruit Flies Found in Fruits in Androscoggin County, Maine

Have you ever heard of the invasive spotted wing drosophila? No? Well, it’s a fruit fly from Asia that threatens our berries and crops!

This year, these pests have made an early and impactful appearance.

Here's the problem: this fruit fly is now causing dangerous disruptions in strawberry operations across our beautiful state of Maine, according to the Sun Journal. They are damaging the yummy berries, and have come three weeks earlier than anyone was expecting.

Because of this, strawberry operations have sadly been forced to shut down due to the terrible behavior of these fruit flies, according to the article. 

Assistant Professor of Agricultural Entomology Philip Fanning (University of Maine) said the following,

It’s a little invasive vinegar fly and (we’ve found) some years it’s not an issue for growers and other years they can come a little bit earlier and can be more of an issue,” Fanning said. “Certainly this year, it seems like our populations are going to be pretty high. They’re at least building up much earlier than we hoped.

The fruit flies are ruining the crops, which in turn makes it terrible hard to grow and disrupt their delicious fruit.

As per the article, Maine farmers are working closely with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension to use their research and ultimately help reduce crop damage. Researchers are helping farms set traps to track the pests. This will help farms create plans to keep crops safe and productive.

According to Science Daily, the eggs that the flies lay, "accelerate decay, and as a result the fruit rots and becomes inedible."

Hopefully, the researchers will be able to diminish the threat to our beautiful berries!