Although not used directly by the grower, molecular techniques are vital to identify pests accurately and understand the population dynamics of pests.

Molecular analysis of the bacterial community associated with vine weevils is a vital step in understanding whether the insect bacterial community plays an important role in insect adaptation (Morera-Margarit et al., 2019)   (insert image info here)

Genetic analysis of SWD insects using molecular markers can be used to determine whether the SWD population in Scotland is genetically similar to other parts of Europe and to understand the whether the population genetic structure is stable over time and in relation to environmental factors.