Grapevines (''
Vitis
''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, ...
'' species) are used as food plants by the
caterpillars of several
Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). These include:
Monophagous
A generalist species is able to thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and can make use of a variety of different resources (for example, a heterotroph with a varied diet). A specialist species can thrive only in a narrow range of e ...
species which feed exclusively on ''Vitis'':
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Hepialidae
The Hepialidae are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Hepialidae constitute by far the most diverse group of the infraorder Exop ...
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Zenophassus schamyl''
Polyphagous species which feed on ''Vitis'' among other plants:
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Geometridae
The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metro ...
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Peribatodes rhomboidaria'' (willow beauty) – leaves
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Hepialidae
The Hepialidae are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Hepialidae constitute by far the most diverse group of the infraorder Exop ...
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Endoclita signifer''
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Zenophassus schamyl''
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Lymantriidae
The Lymantriinae (formerly called the Lymantriidae) are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893.
Many of its component species are referred to as "tussock moths" of one sort or another. The cat ...
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Euproctis chrysorrhoea
The brown-tail moth (''Euproctis chrysorrhoea'') is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is native to Europe, neighboring countries in Asia, and the north coast of Africa. Descriptions of outbreaks, i.e., large population increases of several year ...
'' (brown-tail)
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Noctuidae
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Agrotis segetum
''Agrotis segetum'', sometimes known as the turnip moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is a common European species and it is found in Africa and across ...
'' (turnip moth)
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Amphipyra tragopoginis
The mouse moth (''Amphipyra tragopoginis'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a widespread species with a Holarctic distribution.
Distribution
Europe (except the extreme north, and not occurring in the south of Spain, Sicily, or the Balka ...
'' (mouse moth)
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Euxoa nigricans
The garden dart (''Euxoa nigricans'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout much of the Palearctic. Temperate regions of Europe, Central Asia and North Asia, as well as the mountains of North Africa. Absent from polar ...
'' (garden dart)
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Noctua pronuba
The large yellow underwing (''Noctua pronuba'') is a moth, the type species for the family Noctuidae. It is an abundant species throughout the Palearctic realm, one of the most common and most familiar moths of the region. In some years the speci ...
'' (large yellow underwing)
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Phlogophora meticulosa
The angle shades (''Phlogophora meticulosa'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is distributed throughout Europe as far east as the Urals and ...
'' (angle shades)
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Xestia c-nigrum
The setaceous Hebrew character (''Xestia c-nigrum'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found in the Palearctic realm. It is a common speci ...
'' (setaceous Hebrew character)
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Tortricidae
The Tortricidae are a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths or leafroller moths, in the order Lepidoptera. This large family has over 11,000 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea, although the genus ...
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"Cnephasia" jactatana'' (black-lyre leafroller moth)
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Epiphyas postvittana
The light brown apple moth (''Epiphyas postvittana'') (often abbreviated to LBAM) is a leafroller moth belonging to the lepidopteran family Tortricidae.
Identification Adult moths
Light brown apple moth adults are variable in colour and may b ...
'' (light brown apple moth)
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Eupoecilia ambiguella
''Eupoecilia ambiguella'', the vine moth, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in Europe, China (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin, Xinjiang, Yunnan, Z ...
''
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Lobesia botrana
''Lobesia botrana'', the European grapevine moth or European grape worm, is a moth of the family Tortricidae.
Distribution
This species is native to Southern Italy. It can be found in Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia and the Caucasus. Re ...
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External links
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{{Viticulture
Grapes
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
Viticulture
Lepidoptera