PART I.— THE GRAPE PLUME MOTH^ 



By W. D. Whitcomb, Research Professor, and Wm. E. Tomiinson, Jr., 

 Laboratory Assistant, Department of Entomology- 



Although several species of wild grapes are native to Massachusetts and many 

 kinds of cultivated grapes thrive in this climate w'th a minimum of care and 

 damage from injurious insects, there aie very few commercial vineyards in the 

 State. However, thousands of "backyard" gardens have one or more grapevmes 

 which are grown for shade or ornamental value as well as for fruit and juice. On 

 arbors and trellises in "backyard" gardens, the vines are seldom pruned as 

 heavily or systematically as is recommended by horticultural authorities. The 

 thick and tangled growth of these vines provides ideal conditions for the grape 

 plume moth which has become abundant in eastern Massachusetts. 



HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION 



The grape plume moth is generally distributed over the northeastern United 

 States and southeastern Canada, 'nclud-ng the Great Lakes' region. It appears 

 to be more abundant within 50 miles of the coast, but this statement is neither 

 verified nor explained. In eastern Massachusetts, especially in Metropolitan 

 Boston, nearly all vines have been attacked in recent years and the characteristic 

 webbed leaves have been abundant and conspicuous. Typical infestations in 

 the vicinity of Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1939 (15) showed from 32 to 78 

 percent of the cane tips to be infested. In spite of these relatively heavy in- 

 festations, the grape plume moth has not become a serious pest in commercial 

 vineyards in Massachusetts and consequently had not been studied carefully. 

 It has been the subject of brief reports for about 50 years, but apparently the 

 complete life history had not been worked out previous to the studies herein 

 reported (15). 



Lintner (5) in 1896 summarized the observations of Fernald, Saunders and 

 Riley to conclude that there is one generation annually, and that the insect 

 hibernates either as the egg on grape canes or as a moth similar to other Pterophor- 

 idae, especially in England. 



Quaintance (10) in 1921 stated "The life history of this insect is imperfectly 

 known"; and Pettit (9) in 1933, reporting it in the vicinity of Kalamazoo, Michi- 

 gan, said "This dainty little moth produces two generations each year . . . The 

 larvae of the first generation do all the damage, for by the time the second gen- 

 eration appears the grapes and leaves have become well-formed and hardened." 

 Slingerland and Crosby (12) in 1922 say, "The eggs have not been observed . . . 

 and it is not known whether there is a second brood or not, and whether the 

 insect hibernates in the egg or adult stage." 



The first complete life history records were published by the writers in 1940 (15) . 



' Pterophorus periscelidactylus Fitch. 



'The writers gratefully acknowledge the assistance of William Garland, Technical Assistant, 



Department of Entomology, with the field work reported herein. 



