The State : Bug Perils Wine Grapes

A juice-sucking vine bug that devastated California’s wine grape industry 100 years ago is making a reappearance, and some scared growers have already turned to other crops, officials said. The bug, called the phylloxera--a kind of plant lice similar in size and appearance to aphids--is eating away at rootstocks in wine grape areas of California, especially Monterey County. Growers are concerned because the bugs do their damage underground, making it hard to tell if a plant is under attack until damage is severe. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, are trying to determine the nature and extent of the problem.