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Classification and host plants
Class: Insects
Order: Diptera
Suborder: nematocers
Family: Cecidomidi
Genus: Dichelomyia
Species: D. oenophila V. Haimhoff.
Bibliographic reference:
“Phytopathology, agricultural entomology and applied biology” – M.Ferrari, E.Marcon, A.Menta; School edagricole - RCS Libri spa
Host plants: Vine
Identification and damage
The cecidomy of the vine is a more frequent insect in the northern regions; adults, whose dimensions are about 1-2 mm, have a reddish-gray color; the females lay in the lower leaf page, by means of a styliform ovipositor.
The larvae, apod and yellowish in color, cause the formation of a characteristic leaf gall which is convex on both leaf pages; however on the upper page the surface is smooth, while on the lower page there is fluff and a showy darker central hole when the adult is flickered.
You have to be very careful because the gall can be confused with that caused by phylloxera.
The surface, after the exit of the larva, turns dark and dry.
The damage consists of the decrease in the photo-synthesizing fabric of the leaves; moreover, if the galls are on the leaf veins, the deformation of the leaf itself can also occur.
Leaf with galls from Cecidomia della vite (photo http://agroambiente.info.arsia.toscana.it)
Biological cycle
Cecidomia overwinters in the ground at the larval stage; adults appear in spring-summer from May. The females lay in the lower leaf page; the wintering larvae will come out of these eggs.
The insect makes only one generation per year.
Fight
The chemical fight against cecidomy is not always justifiable, due to the small amount of damage caused.
In the case of a real need for a specific intervention, endotherapeutic insecticides can be used, which are already indicated for other phytophages of the vine, such as cicadas and thrips.
