Colomerus vitis

Grape erineum mite

Description

It is known also as Eriophyes vitis. The grape erineum mites are 0.2 mm long, white or creamy and worm-like. They cannot be seen with the naked eye. This pest overwinters under the bark of 1–year-old grape shoots and crawls out onto the leaves during the summer to feed and reproduce. Mites live on the underside of leaves. Their feeding causes blister like swellings (galls) on the upper surface with the cavities on the underside becoming filled with a mass of white hairy growth. The mites feed and reproduce within the whitish growth on the underside of the foliage. Several generations of the pest occur every year. In situations where severe infestations become established, reduced vigor and impaired vine growth can result from feeding by the mites on the leaves.

Symptom

Their feeding causes blister like swellings (galls) on the upper surface with the cavities on the underside becoming filled with a mass of white hairy growth.

Tree Species: Grape

Part of a plant- attacked: Leaf / Needle

Pest significance: Harmful

Pest Category: Mites

Invasive Species: No

Present in EU: Yes

Seasonal frequency of occurrence