The vine is a well-known and established crop in Spain, since we are one of the great wine producers in the world. Therefore, we have to take care of the raw material. In this section on pests, we are going to learn about the problems that we may encounter when we grow grapes. You can be pests by lice, mosquitoes, moths, etc. Let’s know the main pests of the vine.

VINE PESTS

THRIPS (FRANKLINIELLA OCCIDENTALIS)

They are very polyphagous insects. Specifically, Frankliniella occidentalis causes a lot of damage to the bunches and a great economic loss. Damage begins when the female lays on the floral elements (berries in formation).

Wounds are produced on the fruits that get worse as the berry enlarges. Browning of the epidermis is common.

GREEN MOSQUITO (JABOBIASCA LYBICA)

The adult measures around 3 mm and is light green. The green mosquito pest colonizes on the underside of vine leaves. The damage that it produces on the vine causes the drying of the veins of the leaves by suction, in addition, when injecting toxic saliva it causes the obstruction of the conducting vessels and the interruption of the circulation of the sap. The margins of the leaves yellow and over time they become necrotic and dry.

There is a differentiation between white grape and black grape. In the white the bite acquires a yellowish color. However, in black grapes, the bites give the leaf a mosaic appearance.

PIRAL (SPARGANOTHIS PILLERIANA)

This pest is made up of yellowish caterpillars and about 3 cm in length. They have constant movement and are restless.

The caterpillar feeds on the young leaves, then attacking the young clusters, which it unites by weaving them with its webs.

CLUSTER MOTH   (LOBESIA BOTRANA AND EUPOECILLA AMBIGUELLA)

In the case of Eupoecilla , the adult is a butterfly with a wingspan of between 13 and 14 mm. The caterpillar is reddish-vinous in color with a black head. In Lobesia, the adult is a larger butterfly than Eupoecilla , and the caterpillar has a yellowish-green color and a light yellow head. In Spain, the most important is Lobesia botrana.

The damage caused by the cluster moth causes weak impacts on the crop, but is a source of entry for acidic and bacterial rot. Rots alter the quality of wines and can produce toxicity in foods based on this raw material ( Ochratoxin A) .

PHYLLOXERA ( DACTYLOSPHAERA VITIFOLII )

Vine phylloxera could be considered a double action aphid. In one life cycle it attacks the roots of the grapevine, and in another it lives on the surface and attacks the leaves.

Very characteristic galls are produced on the leaves that turn red. This is a consequence of the introduction of the phylloxera stylet.

APHID (APHIS GOSSYPII)

This kind of aphid forms colonies both on the shoots and on the grape bunches. The fact that several colors coexist in these aphids reveals that they coexist in different evolutionary stages, and not that there are different species coexisting at the same time.

It is very polyphagous and feeds on vegetable juices. Pitting occurs on the skin that end up necrotizing and depreciate its commercial value.