European grapevine moth

Lobesia botrana

1. Identification

• Common name: European grapevine moth
• Scientific name: Lobesia botrana Denis & Schiffermüller
• Order: Lepidoptera
• Family: Tortricidae

2. Pest description

• Small caterpillars, of a yellowish-green to greyish-green colour, with a brown head, reaching about 10–12 mm.
• Adults with a 10–13 mm wingspan, forewings with a brownish-grey marbled pattern and greyish hindwings.
• Key species in viticulture, with several generations per year, each one associated with different organs of the vine.
• Caterpillars feed on flowers and berries, which may cause direct damage and favour secondary infections by fungi, such as Botrytis cinerea.

3. Main hosts

• Vine.
• Occasional secondary hosts include Daphne species and other weeds.

4. Symptoms and damage

• First generation: feeding on the inflorescences, causing partial destruction of the flowers.
• Second generation: borings and webbing on the green berries, with berry drop.
• Third generation: severe damage on ripe berries, with high susceptibility to the development of rots.
• Opening of entry points for Botrytis cinerea and other rot agents.

5. Biological cycle

• Winter spent as a pupa in cocoons under the bark of the vine or in the soil.
• Adults emerge in spring, starting the flight of the first generation.
• Eggs laid individually on the inflorescences or berries, depending on the generation.
• Caterpillars develop inside flowers or berries, producing characteristic webbing.
• Number of generations dependent on the climate, generally 2 to 4 per year.

6. Monitoring

• Pheromone traps to detect and track flights.
• Direct observation of inflorescences and bunches to detect eggs and caterpillars.
• Assessment of the percentage of affected organs in each generation.
• Recording of flight peaks to define intervention moments.

7. Management measures

• Cultural: improvement of canopy ventilation, management of the productive load and elimination of plant debris that may harbour pupae.
• Preventive: choice of training systems that reduce humidity and favour bunch exposure.
• Biological: use of mating disruption techniques, conservation of natural enemies and application of selective biological products such as Bacillus thuringiensis.
• Integrated protection: monitoring with pheromones, definition of intervention thresholds per generation and careful application of authorised insecticides at the moments of greatest sensitivity of the pest.

Bibliographic references

• CABI – Invasive Species Compendium – Lobesia botrana.
• EPPO Global Database – Lobesia botrana.
• Ioriatti, C. et al. (2011). Integrated control of Lobesia botrana in vineyards. Journal of Pest Science, 84, 403–408.
• Thiéry, D. & Moreau, J. (2005). Biological traits of the European grapevine moth Lobesia botrana. Comptes Rendus Biologies, 328, 981–992.
• Boller, E. F. et al. (2002). Integrated Production: Principles and Technical Guidelines. IOBC/WPRS.