GRAPE PHYLLOXERA

The grape phylloxera is a tiny aphid-like insect that infests vineyards and entire wine regions. They have been ruining European grapevines, which are more susceptible than North American vines, since the mid-1800s. These pests are resistant to insecticides, and eat grape leaves and roots, injecting a poison into the plant in the process, while nymphs get under the bark and form protective pouches, called galls, on leaves.