Produced under the British Columbia Wine Grape Council (BCWGC) and the BC Ministry of Agriculture
By Tom Lowery, Summerland Research and Development Centre, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Insect and Mite Pest of Grapes - October 2020 Edition
Grapes grown in British Columbia are attacked by few insect and mite pests relative to those in many other major production areas. Economic losses from a small number of ‘key’ pests can be considerable, however, requiring that producers implement timely and appropriate control measures. Although many growers in BC utilize conventional spray programs, the small number of economically important insect pests of grapes in this region more readily allows for adoption of sustainable and organic approaches to pest management that includes preservation of beneficial insects and predacious mites that help regulate secondary pests such as spider mites and thrips. Adoption of sustainable* and integrated pest management (IPM) practices that minimize the use of chemical sprays reduces production costs and human exposure to insecticides and helps preserve the local environment. The companion to this guide, Insect and Mite Pests of Grape in British Columbia (Lowery et al., 2014), contains colour photographs of many of the pests outlined in this chapter. In the following descriptions of grapevine pests, numbers and letters indicated in parentheses refer to the corresponding pages and plates of the pest photo guide. Beneficial Insects and Mites of Grape in British Columbia, (Lowery et al. 2015) contains photos of natural enemies of grape pests. Additional sources for information on insect and mite pests of grapes are listed at the end of this chapter.