First record of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) on the fruits of Viscum album spp. album in Bulgaria

Gergana Zaemdzhikova; Plamen Glogov; Mariam Bozhilova; Mihail Kechev

Gergana Zaemdzhikova https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0694-4331; Plamen Glogov https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2913-3379; Mariam Bozhilova https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7683-2936; Mihail Kechev https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9852-5184

2 June 2025 · volume 47 · (issue 6) · pp. 137–144 · PDF [full text]

Abstract: The invasive fly Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) was recorded for the first time as a pest on the fruit of European mistletoe (Viscum album ssp. album Linnaeus) in Bulgaria. Fruits were collected in April 2023 from seven sites, located in the region of Nesebar Town. In three of them, the mistletoe grows on false acacia (black locust) tree (Robinia pseudoacacia Linnaeus) and in four sites – on Canadian poplar (Populus × canadensis Moench). It found that, the infestation rate of mistletoe fruits by D. suzukii was influenced by the host species of mistletoe. It is 10 times higher in false acacia (black locust) tree than in Canadian poplar.

Keywords: European mistletoe, fruit infestation rate, invasive fly, new record

References [25]

Assyov B., Petrova A., Dimitrov D., Vassilev R. 2012 Conspectus of the Bulgarian vascular flora. Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation, 489 pp. (In Bulgarian)

Cini A., Ioriatti C., Anfora G. 2012 A review of the invasion of Drosophila suzukii in Europe and a draft research agenda for integrated pest management. Bulletin of Insectology 65 (1): 149–160.

Deconninck G., Boulembert M., Eslin P., Couty A., Bonis A., Borowiec N., Buch I., Colinet H., Delbac L., Dubois F., Foray V., Gallet-Moron E., Lemauviel-Lavenant S., Llopis S., Odoux J.-F., Pincebourde S., Thaon M., Till-Bottraud I., Chabrerie O. 2024 Environmental factors driving infestations of a keystone winter fruit by an invasive and a native fruit fly. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 18: 867–880. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-024-10073-6

Deconninck G., Boulembert M., Eslin P., Couty A., Dubois F., Gallet-Moron E., Pincebourde S., Chabrerie O. 2024 Fallen fruit: a backup resource during winter shaping fruit fly communities Agricultural and Forest Entomology 26: 232–248. https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12610

Fleming P., Hofmeyr S., Nicolson S. 2007 Role of insects in the pollination of Acacia nigrescens (Fabaceae). South African Journal of Botany 73 (1): 49–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2006.06.010

Grassi A., Palmieri L., Giongo L. 2012 Drosophila (Sophophora) suzukii (Matsumura), new pest of soft fruits in Trentino (North-Italy) and in Europe. IOBC/wprs Bulletin 70: 121–128.

Guéorguiev B., Zaemdzhikova G., Glogov P., Guéorguiev A. 2023 New and rare species of Cryptophagidae, Latridiidae and Mycetophagidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) for the fauna of Bulgaria. Historia naturalis bulgarica 45 (7): 179–186. https://doi.org/10.48027/hnb.45.072

Hauser M. 2011 A historic account of the invasion of Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in the continental United states, with remarks on their identification. Pest Management Science 67 (11): 1352–1357. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.2265

Hollander M., Wolfe D. 1973 Nonparametric Statistic Methods. John Wiley and Sons, New York, London, Sidney, Toronto, 517 pp.

Hussain B., War A., Pfeiffer D. 2023 Jasmonic acid and salicylic acid induced defensive response in wine grapes against Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Heliyon 9: e16505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16505

Japoshvili G., Dzneladze N., Kirkitadze G., Kiss B., Kaydan M. 2018 A new and dangerous pest for the Caucasus – Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931) (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Annals of Agrarian Science 16 (4): 464–465.

Kanzawa T. 1939 Studies on Drosophila suzukii (Mats.). Kofu, Yamanashi Agricultural Experiment Station, 49 pp.

Karadjova O., Ilieva Z., Petrova E., Lagionova M. 2016 Predicted and actual distribution of the invasive species Drosophila suzukii (Diptera:Drosophilidae) in Bulgaria. Agrarni Nauki 19: 45–52.

Kirschbaum D., Funes C., Buonocore-Biancheri M., Suárez L, Ovruski S. 2020 The Biology and Ecology of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae). In: Garcia F. (ed.) Drosophila suzukii Management. Springer, Cham, 41–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62692-1_4

Minkov P., Georgiev D., Palagacheva N., Dzhuvinov D. 2017 Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) – a new invasive insect pest on berry plants in the Central Balkan Mountains – first results. Journal of Mountain Agriculture on the Balkans 20 (6): 243–250.

Minkov P., Georgiev D., Palagacheva N., Dzhuvinov V. 2018 Monitoring of spotted wing drosophila in raspberries and blackberries in Troyan region, Bulgaria. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science 24 (4): 670–673.

Panel A., Zeeman L., Van der Sluis B., Van Elk P., Pannebakker B., Wertheim B., Helsen H. 2018 Overwintered Drosophila suzukii are the main source for infestations of the first fruit crops of the Season. Insects 9 (4): e145. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects9040145

Pietrzak W., Nowak R., Gawlik-Dziki U., Lemieszek M., Rzeski W. 2017 LC-ESI-MS/MS identification of biologically active phenolic compounds in mistletoe berry extracts from different host trees. Molecules 22: 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules22040624

Petrova V., Katinova B., Kadijska E. 2020 Monitoring of Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), a pest of fruit crops in the region of Southwestern Bulgaria. Rastenievadni nauki 57 (4): 31–40. (In Bulgarian)

Poyet M., Le Roux V., Gibert P., Meirland A., Prévost G., Eslin P., Chabrerie O. 2015 The wide potential trophic niche of the asiatic fruit fly Drosophila suzukii: the key of its invasion success in temperate Europe? PLOS One 10 (11): e0142785. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0142785

Pratyusha S. 2022 Phenolic Compounds in the Plant Development and Defense: An Overview. In: Hasanuzzaman M., Nahar K. (eds) Plant Stress Physiology – Perspectives in Agriculture. IntechOpen, London, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102873

Thomas P., Dering M., Giertych M., Iszkuło G, Tomaszewski D., Briggs J. 2023 Biological Flora of Britain and Ireland: Viscum album. Journal of Ecology 111 (3): 701–739. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14036

Seljak G. 2011 Spotted wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), a new pest of berry-fruits in Slovenia. Sad 22 (3): 3–5.

Walsh D, Bolda M., Goodhue R., Dreves A., Lee J., Bruck D., Walton V., O’Neal S., Zalom F. 2011 Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae): Invasive pest of ripening soft fruit expanding its geographic range and damage potential. Journal of Integrated Pest Management 2 (1): 1–7.

Yuzuki K., Tidon R. 2020 Identification key for drosophilid species (Diptera, Drosophilidae) exotic to the Neotropical Region and occurring in Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 64 (1): e2019100. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9665-RBENT-2019-100