Progress in research on the use of Asian parasitoids against Drosophila

suzukii
Lukas Seehausen (Scientist, Risk Analysis & Invasion Ecology)

Since its arrival in Europe, the invasive spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, has
become a major pest on many fruit crops. Various methods have been developed to control
the pest in conventional and organic systems. Insecticides, mass trapping and sanitation
measures are locally efficient but cannot be used on a large scale in non-crop habitats.
Because the fly attacks fruits from many ornamental and wild plants and has a high number
of generations per year, crops are constantly reinvaded from neighbouring habitats, which
complicates management strategies. Therefore, an area-wide management strategy is
desirable. Classical biological control, i.e. the introduction of natural enemies from the region
of origin of the pest for permanent establishment in the region of introduction, may provide a
long term solution because these natural enemies would attack the pest in all habitats, thereby
lowering populations at the landscape level. The best candidates for the classical biological
control of D. suzukii are parasitic wasps (parasitoids) attacking the larvae of the spotted wing
drosophila because they are usually considered as major mortality factors in Drosophila
species and are, so far, totally absent from the natural enemy complex of D. suzukii in
Europe. Furthermore, larval parasitoids are often considered more specific than other natural
enemies of Drosophilidae such as pupal parasitoids and predators.
Surveys were carried out in China and Japan to study the larval parasitoid complex of
the fly and assess the importance of parasitism in its region of origin. Total parasitism rates in
Asia varied from 0% to 80% and at least eight parasitoid species were collected. In all
investigated regions, the parasitoid complex was largely dominated by two wasps of the
family Figitidae, Ganaspis cf. brasiliensis and Leptopilina japonica. Several strains of these
parasitoids were selected for further laboratory tests in quarantine conditions in Switzerland
and France.
Their biology and ecology were investigated and compared with European parasitoid
species. In particular, the specificity of these parasitoids for the spotted wing drosophila is
carefully assessed to avoid the release of parasitoids that would attack native flies in Europe.
Ganaspis cf. brasiliensis showed the highest specificity, however, important variations
between strains from different places in Asia were observed. Some strains are totally specific
to D. suzukii in fruits, failing to attack and develop in other Drosophila spp. and even in D.
suzukii feeding on artificial diets. In contrast, other strains parasitised D. suzukii and the non-
target D. melanogaster in diets enriched with fruits. Additional tests showed that Ganaspis
cf. brasiliensis is able to parasitize D. suzukii larvae feeding in different fruits such as apricot,
blackberry, blueberry, cherry, raspberry, and strawberry but also confirm the variability of
different strains in specificity to D. suzukii larvae in fruits. Preliminary molecular studies in
collaboration with partners in France suggest that specific and non-specific females belong to
different genetic clusters, suggesting that host specificity is genetically defined. Cross-mating
experiments and further molecular studies are presently being carried out to sort out the
taxonomic status of the species.
All together, these results are promising for the biological control of D. suzukii in
Europe and suggest that Ganaspis cf. brasiliensis is the first candidate for releases. This
parasitoid may help reducing D. suzukii populations at a landscape level and, thus, has the
potential to limit the need for other management methods. Only a few more experiments are
needed before the release of a D. suzukii-specific parasitoid strain can be recommended for
the control of this important pest in Europe.