Grape phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is a tiny pale yellow bug, so small you can hardly see it. It is a cousin of the aphids and sucks sap from grapevine roots and leaves. Long ago it almost wiped out the vineyards of Europe.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
About 150 years ago it destroyed most of the vineyards in Europe, especially in France.
It came to Europe when plant collectors in England brought home American grapevines in the 1850s.
Some French farmers buried a live toad under each vine, hoping it would pull out the poison. It did not work.
Farmers finally saved their grapes by growing European vines on top of tough American roots.
Its life has up to 18 different stages, and some of them grow wings.
Most asked questions about Grape phylloxera
?What does grape phylloxera do?
It sucks sap from grapevines and damages their roots until the vines die.
?Is there a cure for phylloxera?
No. The only way to protect vines is to grow them on American roots that the bug cannot harm.
?Is grape phylloxera dangerous to people?
No. It only harms grapevines.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Daktulosphaira vitifoliae
- Named by
- Fitch, 1855
- Group
- True bugs and cicadas
- Family
- Phylloxeridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hemiptera > Phylloxeridae
- Lives on
- North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, Australia and Oceania
- Also known as
- Phylloxera
Where the facts come from
- Phylloxera (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Unknown author Unknown author. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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