Grape Phylloxera vs Marbled Minor

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Grape Phylloxera Marbled Minor
Scientific Name Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Oligia strigilis
Order Hemiptera Lepidoptera
Family Phylloxeridae Noctuidae
Size 0.5-1.5 mm 24-28 mm wingspan
Habitat Orchards Underground
Diet Root Feeders Root Feeders
Regions Worldwide wine-growing regions Europe
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Grape Phylloxera

A tiny aphid-like insect that feeds on grapevine roots, causing galls and eventually killing European grape varieties. It devastated European vineyards in the 19th century.

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Did You Know?

The Great French Wine Blight it caused destroyed over 40% of French vineyards, reshaping the global wine industry forever.

Marbled Minor

A small, cryptically marked moth that is extremely variable in pattern. Part of a complex of similar-looking species that can only be reliably separated by dissection.

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Did You Know?

Part of a notoriously difficult species complex where three species look almost identical.