Three years analysis of Lobesia botrana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) flight activity in a quarantined area

Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is an important vineyard-pest in the European and Mediterranean areas and it was recently described in Argentina and Chile. Since knowledge on the L. botrana phenology on Argentina is still limited, the objective of this study was to develop a phenological model to predict voltinism of L. botrana in Argentina through a regional approach.Voltinism of L. botrana males was simulated based on occurrence of four non-overlapping flights. Nonlinear regression models were constructed using the weekly average trap catches from the agricultural seasons 2011-2012 to 2013-2014 and amount of degree-days accumulation. Weibull equation showed, on average for the four annual flights, the best estimate of the observed variability in the percentage of adult catches in relation to degree-day accumulation. It can be expected that 50% of male adult emergence for the first flight occurs at 443.9 DD; in the second flight at 1211.7 DD; while in the third and the fourth flights, the accumulation of degree days reaches values of 2077.8 DD and 2905 DD, respectively. The regional approach adopted in this work could explainthe variation found in field data and has a reasonable predictive and explicative capability as a component in the ongoing prospective analysis of the activity of L. botrana in Argentina.