How California eradicated an invasive grapevine moth

Weston Williams, THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
Since 2009, California farmers and agricultural officials of California have been at war with the European grapevine moth. The invasive species threatened the region’s massive wine and grape industry and threatened to throw off the balance of the local ecosystem.
But now, after seven years, the war is over. The moth has been declared eradicated from the United States.The European grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana, is native to southern Europe. The insect’s larvae feed on grape bud clusters as well as the developing fruit, exposing them to damaging fungi and other pests.
The appearance of the moths came as a surprise. In October of 2009, multiple moths and larvae were discovered in a Napa County vineyard, according to a 2010 press release from the County of Sonoma Agricultural Commissioner’s office. In response, several measures were put in place to combat the invasive species. The USDA and CDFA quickly quarantined the affected vineyards and began setting up traps to keep track of the moth population.
It is still unknown how the insects got to the US, but they quickly spread to other counties in California, and their numbers quickly climbed to a peak in 2010, when more than 100,000 moths were detected through traps. By that time, 52,170 acres of California vineyards had been put under quarantine, according to The Press Democrat.
Read more at: How California eradicated an invasive grapevine moth – CSMonitor.com