Pictured: European cherry fruit fly traps. Photo by K. Hamilton DATCP.
The invasive cherry fruit fly is new to the U.S., but not yet detected in Wisconsin. Early detection work for the European cherry fruit fly (ECFF) was conducted in five central Wisconsin counties in 2024, according to the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
If ECFF reaches Wisconsin through natural dispersal on wild hosts or with the transport of infested fresh cherries, soil, or fruit from host plants, it could threaten tart cherry production and affect access to cherry markets. As the fifth largest tart cherry-producing state in the U.S., early detection of ECFF is important for protecting Wisconsin’s cherry industry.
A total of 120 yellow sticky traps were set in invasive honeysuckle, a wild host of ECFF that grows in a broad range of habitats, including forest edges, fields, and roadsides, and is convenient to find for trapping purposes.
The trap route included 20 sites along Hwy 82, north of the primary rusty patched bumble bee high-risk zones. Traps were deployed the first week in June and checked biweekly through August. All 473 of the trap samples generated were negative for ECFF.
European cherry fruit fly has been in North America since 2016, when it was detected in Ontario, Canada. It has also been found in eight western New York counties bordering Lake Ontario. See the quarantine map: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/ecff-niagara-erie-monroe-wayne-county-ny-map.pdf
