The European grapevine moth has officially been eradicated in California

The European grapevine moth, which was detected in Napa County in 2009 and threatened crops valued at $5.7 billion, has been eradicated from the state, reported Geoffrey Mohan in the Los Angeles Times.

The reporter gleaned information about and a photo of the moth from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). The article credited ANR as explaining, "The moth's several larval stages damage flowers and the fruit itself throughout the growing season."

UC ANR played a key role in the eradicating the pest from California. A team of UC ANR academics received an award this year for coordinating a program "that saved the wine and table grape industries from economic disaster caused by an invasive insect," said the ANR Report.

ANR's European Grapevine Moth Team includes:

• Walter Bentley – UC Integrated Pest Management entomologist emeritus
• Larry Bettiga, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Monterey County
• Monica Cooper, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Napa County
• Kent Daane, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley
• Rhonda Smith, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Sonoma County
• Joyce Strand, IPM academic coordinator emeritus
• Robert Van Steenwyk,  UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley
• Lucia Varela, UC Cooperative Extension area IPM advisor in the North Coast
• Frank Zalom, UC Cooperative Extension specialist and professor in the Department of Entomology at UC Davis

The European grapevine moth has been eradicated in California. (Photo: Jack Kelly Clark)

Read more