Evaluation of multi-lure sex pheromone traps for simultaneous monitoring of five grapevine moth pests

Grape is currently cultivated on over 7 million hectares worldwide and is frequently exposed to arthropod pest invasions. Developing efficient and cost-effective monitoring methods is crucial for the bio-surveillance of key grapevine moth pests, including invasive species, and for implementing integrated pest management programs. In this study, five vine-damaging moth species, i.e., Lobesia botrana, Eupoecilia ambiguella, Argyrotaenia ljungiana, Cryptoblabes gnidiella and Paralobesia viteana (Lb, Ea, Al, Cg, and Pv), were simultaneously monitored using traps baited with single synthetic sex pheromones, paired combinations of pheromones, and a combination of all five pheromones. The field trials were conducted in three different wine-growing regions (i.e. Northern, Central, and Southern Italy) over two years. Results suggest that some combinations of sex pheromones are more effective than others in catching the target species. Of note, multispecies traps could be used for simultaneous monitoring of C. gnidiella, L. botrana and A. ljungiana, with only a modest reduction in captures for some of these target moth species and these could be incorporated into multiple species surveillance programs. Overall, this research provides useful data to design and optimize the efficacy of multilure traps for advanced monitoring of key vine-damaging moths.