<p><strong>Michigan</strong><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">In a recent find, Rufus Isaacs, a small fruit entomologist at Michigan State University, said the spotted wing drosophila is expected to cause $27 million in damage to the state's $102 million blueberry crop this year.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"We first saw it in this country in California in 2008 and we found it here in Michigan in 2010," said Isaacs. "It came here from Asia and now it's everywhere. It's been found in New Jersey, Maine and up into Canada. It's in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and throughout the Midwest."<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Isaacs said no one knows for sure how the pest arrived here, but it likely hitched a ride on imported fruits and vegetables and then traveled the country on its own or on trains and trucks that carried produce.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"There is a lot more international trade now and it's easy for this to happen," said Isaacs.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">But as devastating as the spotted wing drosophila can be, Isaac is optimistic that his two years of study has come up with ways for growers to manage and contain the pest.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"With the information we've been able to generate, I think we can manage this," said Isaacs. He said that while the spotted wing drosophila is a pest, it can be controlled much more easily than other invasive pests like the emerald ash borer.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">In addition to blueberries, the spotted wing drosophila has been found in Michigan's cherries and grapes.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
