Vasates quadripedes

Eriophyes confusus
Phytoptus quadripedes
Eriophyes quadripedes

Hosts: Acer saccharinum, rubrum, pseudoplatanus [mistake?]

Relationships: Bladder galls on leaf upper surface

Notes: The gall in each maple is caused by a different species of Vasates

Range: Quebec, Nova Scotia, CA, IL, IN, KS, MD, MO, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SD, WA, WV, WI

Bladder galls on leaf upper surface., The mite causes a pouch gall type known as bladder gall, which is periodically common and abundant on the upper leaf surface of red and silver maples. The galls on the latter are variable in shape, rounded or elongate. Each has a slender short stem or neck. The length varies from 1.5 to 5 mm. They are solitary and are usually crowded and numerous at the basal part of the leaf blade in the angles between the larger veins. The exterior of the galls appears wrinkled and glossy. They change from yellowish green or dark green to pink, to brown, to black. The interior is hollow, and the exit hole, which is on the underside of the leaf, is lined with unicellular whitish hairs. In heavy infestations, the leaves become curled, form cylindrical rolls, and drop prematurely. The galls on red maple differ in size and form. They are smaller, I to 2 mm, somewhat beadlike, and without a basal constriction or neck.
Vasates quadripedes is found on red and silver maples in the United States and Canada.

Eriophyes sp.

Acer rubrum

Pimple gall

MA, May

Phytoptus quadripedes

Acer dasycarpum [saccharinum]

Bladder-like pouches above leaf

MA, June

Phyllocoptes quadripes

Acer rubrum, saccharinum

Small bladder like greenish or reddish leaf galls, diameter 2.5 mm, very abundant, on the upper surface.

Described from individuals found associated with P quadripes Shimer in bladder galls on the leaves of the soft maple, Acer saccharinum.