The USDA’s Systematic Entomology Laboratory has confirmed the capture of two European grapevine moths (EGVM), Lobesia botrana, in Fresno County, Calif.

The moths were found in two separate traps April 28 about one-half mile apart in vineyards southeast of Fresno. The traps were part of a statewide program to detect the invasive moth.

As a result of the finds, additional traps were placed in an approximately 80-square-mile area around the discoveries by staff of the Fresno County Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

An additional EGVM was found May 1 in the Kingsburg area approximately 11 miles from the original find site.

County, state, and federal officials are developing an agriculture quarantine to prevent the human-aided movement of the moth.

Treatment options for the EGVM include traditional and organic ovicides and larvicides plus mating disruption. These activities are designed to give domestic and foreign trading partners confidence that products moving in commerce are free of EGVM.

The Fresno County Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) currently have over 5,000 EGVM traps in place throughout the county. Fresno County will continue to monitor traps in the county and in the quarantine area to determine the area where the pest is present.

EVGM was first detected in Napa County in September of 2009. EGVM has been found in Sonoma, Solano, and Mendocino counties where eradication efforts are ongoing.

EGVM is a grape pest of economic importance in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, southern Russia, Japan, and recently Chile. The larva feeds on grape flowers and developing fruit.

Second and third generations cause the most damage by direct feeding on mature grape berries and indirectly by predisposing the crop to grey mold, a fungal infection caused by Botrytis cinerea.

Damage is greatest in grape cultivars with compact clusters or sensitive to rot.

For more information, contact the Fresno County Department of Agriculture at (559) 456-7510.