The Grape Phylloxera, Daktulosphaira Vitifoliae (Fitch)

Fitch (1855) first described the grape phylloxera from grape leaf galls in New York state. He considered it an aphid and called it the grape leaf louse, Pemphigus vitifoliae. Shimer (1866) described a new genus, Daktulosphaira for the species vitifoliae. Walsh and Riley (1869) proposed the name Phylloxera vitifoliae (Fitch). From 1869 to 1959 there were at least 10 other genera in which vitifoliae was placed. For a complete synonymy see Russell (1974). She places the species in the genus Daktulosphaira. The grape phylloxera is a native of North America and was found in the Mississippi Basin region on wild grape vines. It was introduced into Europe about 1859 and spread rapidly throughout European grape vineyards (Federov, 1959). Much economic damage was caused in Europe until resistant rootstock from the eastern U. S. region was developed.