RAPID COMMUNICATION Tracking the invasion of the alien fruit pest Drosophila suzukii in Europe A. Cini • G. Anfora • L. A. Escudero-Colomar • A. Grassi • U. Santosuosso • G. Seljak • A. Papini Received: 16 January 2014 / Revised: 1 August 2014 / Accepted: 5 August 2014 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 Abstract Biological invasions are a leading threat to native wildlife, human health and food production world- wide. Understanding the invasion history helps identifying introduction pathways and organizing integrated manage- ment strategies especially aimed at avoiding multiple reintroductions. We coupled a recently developed spatial analysis (Geographic profiling) with trade flows quantifi- cation to identify the most likely spreading centre of a recent invader of Europe, the spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii. This polyphagous vinegar fly recently colonized western countries, where it is heavily threatening fruit production causing severe economic losses. Charac- terized by a rapid spread and a huge impact, the invasion of this pest has a few precedents and it is becoming a model in invasion biology and pest management. Thanks to our spatial approach based on data presence of D. suzukii in European countries in the very first years of it spread, we update the current knowledge of a first spread in Spain and Italy, suggesting on the contrary that the South of France may be the most likely spreading centre of D. suzukii in Europe. Estimates of propagule pressure (fresh host fruits importation) support this finding as imports from contam- inated South East Asian countries are higher in France than in Spain or Italy. Our study provides a first step in the comprehension of invasion history of this pest species and emphasizes geographic profiling as an efficient technique to track down invaders colonization patterns. Keywords Biological invasion Á Spotted wing drosophila Á Fruit fly Á Invasive species Á Geographic profiling Key message The alien invasive pest, Drosophila suzukii, recently col- onized Europe, where it is causing severe economic losses. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10340-014-0617-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. A. Cini Laboratoire Ecologie and Evolution UMR 7625, Universite ´ Pierre et Marie Curie, 7 quai St Bernard, Batiment A, 7e `me e ´tage, Case 237, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France Present Address: A. Cini (&) CRA – ABP Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Centro di Ricerca per l’Agrobiologia e la Pedologia, Via di Lanciola 12/a Cascine del Riccio, 50125 Florence, Italy e-mail: cini.ales@gmail.com G. Anfora Á A. Grassi Research and Innovation Centre and Technology Transfer Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all’adige, Trentino, Italy L. A. Escudero-Colomar Institute for Food and Agriculture Research and Technology (IRTA), Sustainable Plant Protection, Mas Badia Experimental Station, La Tallada, 17134 Girona, Spain U. Santosuosso Department of Clinical and experimental Medicine, Largo Brambilla 3, 50134 Florence, Italy G. Seljak Department for plant protection, Agriculture and Forestry Institute Nova Gorica, Pri hrastu 18, 5000 Nova Gorica, Slovenia A. Papini Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Micheli 3, Florence, Italy 123 J Pest Sci DOI 10.1007/s10340-014-0617-z