Lucia G. Varela

Grape Berry Moths in Western European Vineyards and Their Recent Movement into the New World

This chapter addresses the topic of pest biology and management for cluster-feeding Lepidoptera of European origin, from the viewpoint of applied entomologists working in Europe and North America. We describe the main biological, morphological, and behavioral features of the Palaearctic moths harmful to grapes. Five species of Lepidoptera feed on grape clusters in Europe. Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermuller) and Eupoecilia ambiguella (Hubner) are key pests that require specific control measures. Argyrotaenia ljungiana (Thunberg), Cryptoblabes gnidiella (Milliere) and Ephestia parasitella Staudinger are occasionally harmful to vineyards. As the five species are similar in size and occur almost in the same ecological niche, morphological features allowing species identification are provided in Table 14.1. For comparison, a description of the North American grape berry moth Paralobesia viteana (Clemens) is provided by Isaacs et al. ( Chap. 15).

Impacts of Standard Wine-Making Process on the Survival of Lobesia botrana Larvae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Infested Grape Clusters

ABSTRACT To determine the risk winery waste poses for the spread of Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in California, we evaluated the survival of larvae in artificially infested grape clusters (Vitis vinifera L.) processed for wine making. The trial consisted of five treatments: whole cluster pressing to 1 bar (100,000 Pa); whole cluster pressing to 2 bars (200,000 Pa); destemming and berry pressing to 1 bar; destemming and berry pressing to 2 bars; and control. Each treatment was replicated with the following five winegrape varieties: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Yellow Muscat, and Cabernet Sauvignon. All winery waste was inspected for larval survival. No live larvae were recovered from any of the treatments in all five varieties; therefore, the hypothesis that green winery waste contributes to the spread of L. botrana was rejected.