European grapevine moth

Eupoecilia ambiguella

1. Identification

• Common name: Vine moth
• Scientific name: Eupoecilia ambiguella Hübner
• Order: Lepidoptera
• Family: Tortricidae

2. Pest description

• Small caterpillars, of a yellowish-green to pinkish colour, with a brown head, reaching about 10–12 mm.
• Adults with a 12–15 mm wingspan, yellowish-brown forewings with dark transverse bands and greyish hindwings.
• Important species in European viticulture, frequently coexisting with Lobesia botrana.
• Caterpillars feed on flowers and berries, producing compact webbing and clusters of damaged grapes.
• It may favour secondary infections by fungi, including Botrytis cinerea.

3. Main hosts

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

4. Symptoms and damage

• First generation: partial destruction of the inflorescences due to caterpillar feeding.
• Following generations: borings in the berries, dense webbing and clustering of damaged grapes.
• High susceptibility to the development of rots, especially Botrytis cinerea.
• Damage may compromise the quality and yield of production.

5. Biological cycle

• Winter spent as a pupa in cocoons under the bark of the vine or in nearby shelters.
• 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.
• Generally 2 to 3 generations per year, depending on the climatic conditions.

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 per generation.
• Recording of flight peaks to define the 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 – Eupoecilia ambiguella.
• EPPO Global Database – Eupoecilia ambiguella.
• Ioriatti, C. et al. (2011). Integrated control of grapevine moths. Journal of Pest Science, 84, 403–417.
• Thiéry, D. (2008). Biology and ecology of grape berry moths. Comptes Rendus Biologies, 331, 788–798.
• Boller, E. F. et al. (2002). Integrated Production: Principles and Technical Guidelines. IOBC/WPRS.