The lychee erinose mite is a pest of lychee fruit trees. It causes erineum galls, or hairy abnormal growths, to form on the leaves of the lychee tree. Unchecked, an infestation of mites can severely damage the tree, fruit and flowers. Although this pest is too small to see without a microscope, its presence can be detected on the surface of the lychee leaves. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has eradicated this pest twice before, in Sarasota County in 1957 and Miami-Dade County in 1993.
On November 1, 2022, FDACS suspended eradication efforts statewide due to lack of funding and the widespread distribution of the pest and lifted the quarantine for movement of lychee in Lee County.
Survey and treatment for lychee mite will no longer be provided by the FDACS Division of Plant Industry. Homeowners who suspect their lychee trees are infested with this mite should visit the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences' (UF/IFAS) Tropical Research and Education Center website for treatment and control recommendations. If homeowners are unable to diagnose their trees without the help of an expert, identification will be provided by the Division of Plant Industry. Please submit a sample using the sampling instructions at FDACS.gov/DPIsamples.
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