Current state of invasion of Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931) in Ukraine

Ukraine is on the invasion front of spotted-wing Drosophila suzuki (Matsumura, 1931) spreading in Europe. Despite this globally important pest was confirmed only on the southernmost tip of its territory, recently published species distribution models expect its occurrence also in other Ukrainian regions. Therefore, we conducted two-year monitoring (2018-2019) during the whole fruit ripening season; samples were collected on the whole Ukrainian territory; standard bait traps and active capture by an insect net were employed. Individuals of the species were recorded only at the end of the vegetation season (August–October) and only in the westernmost part of Ukraine (Transcarpathian region); in the region predicted by recent ecological niche modeling. The late occurrence of D. suzuki probably reflects the presence of suitable food/fruit for the larvae at the end of the growing season. Our results confirm the importance of monitoring of this pest, together with the investigation of factors that may affect its invasion.