Phylloxera, << `fihl` ok SIHR uh, >> is any one of a group of small insects that resemble aphids (plant lice). They feed on trees and shrubs.
One of the most important kinds of phylloxerae is the grape phylloxera. This insect sucks the sap from the leaves and roots of grapevines, causing galls (swellings). The damage to the root stunts and often kills the vine. The grape phylloxera is native to the eastern United States. The vines in this region resist them, but these insects do much damage in the western United States and in Europe. They are controlled by grafting the vines to rootstock from the eastern United States and by periodically flooding or fumigating the soil.
The life cycle of the grape phylloxera lasts two years. Fertilized eggs are laid under the bark of the vine in the fall. In the spring, these eggs hatch into wingless young that move to the leaves to feed. They lay unfertilized eggs which soon hatch. Several of these generations are produced during the summer. In the fall, the young insects move to the roots and hibernate there during the winter. During the next spring and summer they feed on the roots and produce young from unfertilized eggs. As fall approaches, winged insects are produced that lay eggs in other vines. After these eggs hatch, the insects mate, the females lay fertilized eggs, and the cycle repeats.
