We are pleased to announce a new mite Featured Creatures!

Phyllocoptes fructiphilus Keifer is a tiny eriophyid mite associated with most rose species and cultivars, especially in the eastern half of the USA. Most significantly, this mite is the vector of a devastating viral disease of roses called Rose Rosette Disease (RRD). This virus is a negative-strand RNA virus in the Emaravirus genus, which includes fig mosaic virus, raspberry leaf blotch virus, pigeonpea sterility mosaic virus and High Plains disease of maize and wheat, all of which are transmitted by other eriophyid mite species. The genome of this virus has been partially sequenced, which may allow geneticists to develop cultivars of roses that are resistant to RRD.

Author: Marjorie Hoy, Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida

Available at: http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/Creatures/ORN/ph_fructiphilus.htm

Thanks to Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman (gillett@ufl.edu ) for her submission of this UF-IFAS Featured Creatures Publication!

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