How did American clones cause a French disaster?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

March 20, 2002

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The grape phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae (Fitch)) originated in the eastern United States. They were accidentally exported to Europe in the mid-1800s where they almost caused the loss of the French wine industry. (See Plants that Changed History, March 19, 2002.) These insects have spread to all grape growing regions of the world.

Phylloxera [fil ok' ser a] are minute aphid-like insects which have two forms, the gallicola attack leaves and the radicicola attack roots. The insects damage the vines by sucking the plant juices; the damage shows up as

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The grape phylloxera vastatrix (aka Daktulosphaira vitifoliae) Phylloxera Vastatrix, circa 1850 Giclee Print  French School Buy Giclee Print at AllPosters.com

galls (plant tumors).

Galls may be a response by the plant to isolate the damage, the insect's saliva may mimic a plant hormone, or perhaps bacteria invade the wound producing the hormone. It is not known what mechanism causes the galls. Leaves covered with phylloxera galls dry prematurely and fall. The name, phylloxera, means dry leaf.

Phylloxera overwinter as eggs. Each egg gives rise to a parthenogenetic female called a stem mother or fundatrix. The fundatrix crawls to a leaf and begins feeding. She becomes enclosed in the gall where she lays several hundred eggs. When the nymphs hatch, they leave to form their own galls. In one season, there will be three to five generation—all female clones.

Some of the gallicola drop from the leaves and find their way to the roots where they cause two types of galls—nodosities and tuberosities. Tuberosities kill the vine because the xylem tissue can no longer conduct water and nutrients to rest of the plant.

In the autumn, some of the radicicola change; they become alates (winged). The alates leave the soil to lay eggs. Small eggs become males, large eggs become females. These sexual phylloxera mate; the females lay eggs which will hatch in the spring as the fundatrices.

Virginia Tech Entomology Department has photographs of the grape phylloxera damage and drawings of the tiny insect. To view the page, click on the link:

http://www.ento.vt.edu/Fruitfiles/phylloxera.html

The University of California--Davis Integrated Pest Management has a photograph of the phylloxera female, eggs, and nymphs. To view the photograph, click on the link:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/D/I-HO-DVIT-AD.002.html

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~6~~7~~8~~9~~10~~

Suggested Reading:

How did American clones cause a French disaster? Renfield's Garden - March 20, 2002
What is a California sister? Renfield's Garden - February 18, 2004
What is the wine palm? What's in a Name? - October 4, 2002
What is a toddy? What's in a Name? - January 2, 2004
What is one of nature's most unique items? Plants that Changed History - December 30, 2003

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