Spotted Wing Drosophila in Texas

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Drosophila suzukii, Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), is an invasive pest that attacks several soft-bodied fruit, such as cherries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and grapes.  Similar in size to the common fruit fly, except the females have a serrated ovipositor (organ used for depositing eggs), allowing them to lay eggs in fruit just before harvest.  As a result, the fruit can be unfit for fresh markets by the time they are harvested, resulting in crop loss.  If you would like to send samples to confirm SWD identification, please use the spotted wing drosophila submission form.

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Crapemyrtle Bark Scale

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A new invasive scale of crape myrtles has recently been detected.  Current evidences suggest that the species is Eriococcus lagerostroemia, a native to the plant host to Lagerostroemia sp., also found in China, Japan, Korea, India, Mongolia, South Korea and United Kingdom.

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