| Summary: | Spotted wing drosophila, <i>Drosophila suzukii</i> Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), has become a key pest for soft fruits and cherries in Europe in less than a decade since the first outbreak in 2007. Although this pest’s passive dispersal ability has been observed over more than 1400 km in 1 year, active spread has not yet been extensively studied. A mark−release−recapture (MRR) method based on protein-marked flies was employed to determine the flight capacity of <i>D. suzukii</i>. Sterile marked flies were released and recaptured in a trap grid at increasing distances from 10 to 250 m from the releasing point to study flight distance during periods ranging from 3 h to 1 week. MRR experiments were replicated in the presence and absence of host fruits to study how they could affect dispersal behavior. The dispersal capacity of the Mediterranean fruit fly, <i>Ceratitis capitata</i> Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae) was also studied under the same conditions. The results showed a low dispersal ability for <i>D. suzukii</i>, with a daily flight distance below 100 m with no predominant wind. The implications on natural dispersion and control methods based on attractants are discussed.
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