Chenin Blanc at Bud Break

I love seeing our Chenin Blanc in bud break because the young leaves are tinged with pink and it really looks like a pink flower to me. In the photos below, you can see the pink leaves making their way through the wooly bud stage.

The problem with this is that we have just a handful more Chenin Blanc vines to prune and canes to lay down. This must be done very carefully because at this stage, the newly emerged leaves have a very tenuous hold with the cane and can easily be knocked off. But, with April and May being so rainy, Mother Nature dictates what we can do in the vineyard.

Getting up close to the Chenin Blanc buds also allowed me to see something else that loves young grape vine leaves and that is the grape vine flea beetle Altica spp. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). This is the damage they can cause to the new bud.
The grape vine flea beetle is easily recognizable. Although it is very tiny, smaller than a lady bug, it is a beautiful blue and therefore can't be missed. Grape flea beetles overwinter as adults under the soil surface or in wood crevices, in and around the grapevines. They emerge as adults from overwintering sites, feed upon grape buds, mate and lay eggs.
This is a picture of the grapevine flea beetle that I took on July 6, 2013 when the grapevine leaves were infested with the developing grapevine flea beetle larva. The damage to the leaves can be devastating.

Knowing this, my husband was on a mission during pruning. Whenever he saw these beautiful blue beetles, he squashed them!