Exotic
Lobesia botrana ([Denis & Schiffermüller​]) (Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Olethreutini)
Common names: European grape vine moth (EGVM) (preferred), grapevine moth, grape berry moth
Synonyms: flavosquamella (form), rosmarinana (Olindia), vitisana (Phalaena)
FWL: 4.5-8.0 mm
Adults are not sexually dimorphic, although females are generally larger than males. Forewing ground color is cream; the basal one-half of the wing, which is well differentiated by the inner edge of the median fasciafascia:
a dark transverse band on the forewing 
, is overlaid with leaden gray, gray-brown, and pale-brown scales forming irregular patches and incomplete fasciaefasciae:
plural of "fascia"
. The dark-brown median fasciafascia:
a dark transverse band on the forewing is well defined basally, but irregular distally; the distaldistal:
farthest from body, distant from point of attachment
one-fourth of the wing is paler. The hindwing is whitish with a brown periphery in the male; it is almost complete brown in the female. Males lack a forewing costal foldforewing costal fold:
a flap or fold at the base of the forewing that contains specialized sex scales
.
Male genitalia are characterized by the following characters: sociisocii:
a pair of lightly sclerotized setose lobes
short, laterallateral:
to the side
, with small tufts of setae; uncusuncus:
a sclerotized process which is fused to the posterodorsal margin of tergum IX
, gnathosgnathos:
a narrow bandlike structure that joins the posterolateral edges of the tegumen and supports the anal tube
, and transtilla absent; valvaevalvae:
plural of "valva"
long and narrow with row of spines on the ventralventral:
lower, to the bottom, on the under side
magin; cuculluscucullus:
the distal portion of the male valva
densely setosesetose:
covered with setae
, separated from sacculussacculus:
the ventral margin of the male valva 
with a distinct gap in the marginal spines; sacculussacculus:
the ventral margin of the male valva weakly concave postmedially; aedeagusaedeagus:
the male intromittent organ (penis); see "phallus" 
small; cornuticornuti:
spines used to anchor the male vesica in the female bursa during copulation 
absent. Female genitalia are characterized by a long, slender ductus bursaeductus bursae:
a membranous tube connecting the ostium bursae to the corpus bursae
that is undifferentiated from the corpus bursaecorpus bursae:
a dilated membranous sac at the anterior end of the bursa copulatrix
and an elongate signumsignum:
a sclerotized projection or patch on the interior of the corpus bursae
.
The following account is summarized from Gilligan et al. (2011a).
First instar larvae are yellowish green and approximately 1.0 mm in length. The head is black to dark brown, and the paler prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax 
is concolorous with the rest of the body. Last instar larvae are 10-15 mm long and vary in color from light yellowish green to pale brown. The head is brown to light yellowish brown to honey colored, the antennae and thoracic legs are brown to black, and the prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the prothorax is variably shaded with dark brown to black on the posteriorposterior:
after, to the rear, toward anal end 
and laterallateral:
to the side margins. All instars have a dark stemmatal area and genal dashdash:
a short, sharp, black line on the forewing 
.
Other diagnostic larval characters include: L-pinaculum on T1 horizontal, not extending beneath spiracle; SV groups on A1, 2, 7, 8, 9 with 3:3:3:2:2 setae; SD2 on A1-8 absent; distance between V setae on A9 approximately 1.5–2.03 the distance between V setae on A8; distance between D1 setae on anal shieldanal shield:
a sclerotized plate on the dorsal surface of the last abdominal segment (in larvae) 
equal to the distance between D1 and SD1; anal combanal comb:
a toothed structure on the last abdominal segment used to eject frass away from the feeding larva; also termed "anal fork" 
with 5-8 teeth; mandibles without inner teeth or a retinaculumretinaculum:
a hook or series of bristles on the underside of the forewing used to engage the frenulum to couple the front and hind wings 
.
Detailed figures of larval chaetotaxychaetotaxy:
the arrangement of setae (in reference to Lepidoptera larvae), often depicted on a "setal map"
are available in Gilligan et al. (2011a).
Lobesia botrana is similar in size and wing pattern to many Nearctic Paralobesia, specifically Paralobesia viteana, which is a pest of grapes in eastern North America. Adults of P. viteana and L. botrana cannot be separated by wing pattern; however, the two species are easily separated by genitalia: P. viteana has a sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened; usually in reference to larval structures or adult genitalia 
lobe projecting from the base of the male cuculluscucullus:
the distal portion of the male valva that is absent in all other Nearctic olethreutines, and the female lacks a signumsignum:
a sclerotized projection or patch on the interior of the corpus bursae in the corpus bursaecorpus bursae:
a dilated membranous sac at the anterior end of the bursa copulatrix. Paralobesia viteana is not present in California, but two species of Paralobesia have been recorded from the West Coast (Royals et al. 2019Royals et al. 2019:
Royals, H. R., J-F. Landry, T. M. Gilligan. 2019. Paralobesia (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a systematic revision. Memoirs of the Lepidopterists#39; Society, No. 6. Washington, D.C. 149 pp.).
Other grape pests in California include: Platynota stultana (Tortricidae), Argyrotaenia franciscana (Tortricidae), Epiphyas postvittana(Tortricidae), Desmia funeralis (Crambidae), and Harrisina brillians (Zygaenidae). All of these species are easily distinguished from Lobesia botrana based on wing pattern and genitalic structure. In addition, larvae of Desmia funeralis and Harrisina brillians feed primarliy on foliage and are unlikely to be found in fruit.
No morphological characters have been identified to reliably separate the larvae of Paralobesia and Lobesia (but see comments under "Larval Morphology" of Paralobesia viteana). Should P. viteana be introduced to the West Coast, or L. botrana expand out of California, molecular diagnostics may be required to identify larvae of Paralobesia/Lobesia found on grape.
The following account is summarized from Gilligan et al. (2011a).
Lobesia botrana typically completes three generations in southern Europe, although the number can vary from a single generation in northern Europe to up to five generations in Central Asia.
Females lay approximately 35 eggs per day, either in groups of 2 or 3 on the buds, pedicels, and flowers, or singly on berries later in the season. Eggs hatch in 3-10 days; egg development is dependent on temperature and humidity. Larvae complete five instars, with first generation larvae feeding on flowers and buds, second generation larvae feeding within single grape berries, and third and subsequent generation larvae feeding on several grape berries. Non-diapausing moths (usually first and second generations) pupate in rolled leaves or inflorescences tied with silk. Diapausing individuals pupate under bark, in the soil, or under leaf litter, and emerge the following spring.
Damage is caused by larvae feeding on reproductive structures, resulting in yield loss, or by direct injury to grape berries. Secondary infection of larval feeding sites on grapes by fungus (Botrytis cinerea) causes the most significant damage.
The preferred host is Vitis vinifera (wine grape). However, larvae are polyphagous and have been recorded feeding on more than 40 species of plants in approximately 20 families.
| Host plant | Host plant family | Reference(s) |
| Actinidia chinensis | Actinidiaceae | Moleas 1988Moleas 1988: Moleas, T. 1988. La Lobesia botrana Den. et Schiff. (Tortricidae - Lepidoptera), un potenziale pericolo per lrsquo;actinidia ( Actinidia chinesis Planchon). Informatore Fitopatologica. 38(12): 71-73. |
| Rhus sp | Anacardiaceae | Farahbakhsh 1961Farahbakhsh 1961: Farahbakhsh, G. 1961. Checklist of economically important insects and other enemies of plants and agricultural products in Iran. Department of Plant Protection, Ministry of Agriculture, Publication No. 1. 153 pp. |
| Hedera sp. | Araliaceae | Bradley et al. 1979Bradley et al. 1979: Bradley, J. D., Tremewan, W. G., Smith, A. 1979. British Tortricoid Moths, Tortricidae: Olethreutinae. The Ray Society, London. 336 pp. |
| Serratula tinctoria | Asteraceae | Corio-Costet & Mondy 1997 |
| Tanacetum vulgare | Asteraceae | Gabel et al. 1994Gabel et al. 1994: Gabel, B., Marion-Poll, F., Suchy, V., Roehrich, R., Hradsky, P., Thiery, D. 1994. Olfactory responses of Lobesia botrana females (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) to Tanacetum vulgare (Asteraceae) flower extracts and fractions. Entomological Problems. 25(1): 1-7. |
| Berberis sp. | Berberidaceae | Bradley et al. 1979Bradley et al. 1979: Bradley, J. D., Tremewan, W. G., Smith, A. 1979. British Tortricoid Moths, Tortricidae: Olethreutinae. The Ray Society, London. 336 pp. |
| Lonicera sp. | Caprifoliaceae | Bradley et al. 1979Bradley et al. 1979: Bradley, J. D., Tremewan, W. G., Smith, A. 1979. British Tortricoid Moths, Tortricidae: Olethreutinae. The Ray Society, London. 336 pp. |
| Viburnum lantana | Caprifoliaceae | Bradley et al. 1979Bradley et al. 1979: Bradley, J. D., Tremewan, W. G., Smith, A. 1979. British Tortricoid Moths, Tortricidae: Olethreutinae. The Ray Society, London. 336 pp. |
| Cornus sp. | Cornaceae | Bradley et al. 1979Bradley et al. 1979: Bradley, J. D., Tremewan, W. G., Smith, A. 1979. British Tortricoid Moths, Tortricidae: Olethreutinae. The Ray Society, London. 336 pp. |
| Ribes sp. | Grossulariaceae | Bradley et al. 1979Bradley et al. 1979: Bradley, J. D., Tremewan, W. G., Smith, A. 1979. British Tortricoid Moths, Tortricidae: Olethreutinae. The Ray Society, London. 336 pp. |
| Rosmarinus officinalis | Lamiaceae | USDA/APHIS worksheet |
| Ligustrum sp. | Oleaceae | Bradley et al. 1979Bradley et al. 1979: Bradley, J. D., Tremewan, W. G., Smith, A. 1979. British Tortricoid Moths, Tortricidae: Olethreutinae. The Ray Society, London. 336 pp. |
| Olea europaea | Oleaceae | Savopoulou-Soultani & Tzanakakis 1987 |
| Clematis vitalba | Ranunculaceae | Disque 1908Disque 1908: Disque, H. 1908. Versuch einer microlepidopterologischen Botanik. Deutsch Entomologische Zeitschrift Iris. 21: 34-147.; Bradley et al. 1979Bradley et al. 1979: Bradley, J. D., Tremewan, W. G., Smith, A. 1979. British Tortricoid Moths, Tortricidae: Olethreutinae. The Ray Society, London. 336 pp. |
| Coffea arabica | Rubiaceae | Evans et al. 1968Evans et al. 1968: Evans, D. E., Andrade, O., Mathenge, W. M. 1968. The biology and control of Archips occidentalis (Wals.) and Tortrix dinota Meyr. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) on coffee in Kenya. Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa. 31: 133-140. |
| Botrytis cinerea | Sclerotiniaceae | Mondy et al. 1997Mondy et al. 1997: Mondy, N., Pracros, P., Fermaud, M., Couranjou, C., Corio-Costet, M.-F. 1997. The impact of Botrytis cinerea on the feeding behaviour and development of Lobesia botrana . Annales ANPP. 2(3): 413-420. |
| Daphne gnidium | Thymelaceae | Nuzzaci & Triggiani 1982; Luciano et al. 1988Luciano et al. 1988: Luciano, P., Delio, G., Prota, R. 1988. Osservazioni sulla popolazioni di Lobesia botrana (Den. amp; Schiff.) su Daphne gnidium L. in Sardegna. Atti Congr. Naz. Ital. Entomol. 15: 549-555 [In Italian]. |
| Vitis vinifera | Vitaceae | Farahbakhsh 1961Farahbakhsh 1961: Farahbakhsh, G. 1961. Checklist of economically important insects and other enemies of plants and agricultural products in Iran. Department of Plant Protection, Ministry of Agriculture, Publication No. 1. 153 pp.; Ezzat & Nazmi 1970; Tranfaglia & Malatesta 1977; Bradley et al. 1979Bradley et al. 1979: Bradley, J. D., Tremewan, W. G., Smith, A. 1979. British Tortricoid Moths, Tortricidae: Olethreutinae. The Ray Society, London. 336 pp.; Coscolla & Davila-Zurita 1983; Vrabl et al.1983; Abdullaev et al. 1986Abdullaev et al. 1986: Abdullaev, S. G., Tairov, M. S., Parkomenko, A. A. 1986. [An attempt to control the European grape moth]. Zashchita Rast. 1986: 37-38 [In Russian].; Luciano et al. 1988Luciano et al. 1988: Luciano, P., Delio, G., Prota, R. 1988. Osservazioni sulla popolazioni di Lobesia botrana (Den. amp; Schiff.) su Daphne gnidium L. in Sardegna. Atti Congr. Naz. Ital. Entomol. 15: 549-555 [In Italian].; Cepeda & Cubillos 2011 |
| Vitis sp. | Vitaceae |
View full screen host table here
Lobesia botrana is widely distributed in Europe, Central Asia, and parts of Africa. It has been been introduced to Argentina and Chile, where it is a serious pest.
It was discovered in Napa Valley, California in 2008 feeding on grape clusters (Gilligan et al. 2011aGilligan et al. 2011a:
Gilligan, T. M., Epstein, M. E., Passoa, S. C., Powell, J. A., Sage, O. C., Brown, J. W. 2011. Discovery of Lobesia botrana ([Denis amp; Schiffermuller]) in California: an invasive species new to North America (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 113(1): 14-30.). This prompted an extensive survey and control program in the wine-growing regions of California. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the California Department of Agriculture (CDFA) announced the successful eradication of Lobesia botrana in 2016, two years after the adults of the species were last captured.
