maple bladdergall mite

(Vasates quadripedes)

Conservation Status
IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

not listed

Minnesota

not listed

 
maple bladdergall mite
 
Description

Maple bladdergal mite is about 1 500 to 1 125 long and invisible to the naked eye. It is most easily identified by the shape of the gall it produces and the plant species on which it is found. This mite is found exclusively on silver maple, red maple, and sugar maple.

The pouch-type galls first appear on the upper side of a leaf in late spring. They are solitary, though there are usually many galls on a single leaf. They are hollow and globe-shaped with a hairy opening on the underside of the leaf. They vary in size but may be up to 1 10 in height. They are green when they first appear, turning pinkish or red, and then finally black. The galls are unsightly but the tree is otherwise undamaged.

 

Size

Microscopic, about 1 125

 

Similar Species

Maple bladdergal mite is the only mite that causes bladder galls on these host species. It is not found on other plant species.

Habitat

Silver maple, red maple, and sugar maple

Biology

Season

Several generations each year. The first galls develop late spring.

 

Life Cycle

The adult overwinters in a crevice of the trunk or a branch. As leaf buds begin to swell in the spring the female emerges and begins feeding on a leaf bud. This causes the leaf to produce excess cells that rises above the leaf surface like a blister. The female then enters the hollow gall and deposits eggs. When the eggs hatch the young feed on the interior of the gall. In the summer the gall dries out. In fall the gall opens on the underside of the leaf. The adult emerges and searches for a site to overwinter.

 

Damage

Unsightly but not harmful to humans or host trees

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

7, 29, 30, 82.
6/13/2025    
     

Occurrence

 

Taxonomy
Class Arachnida (arachnids)
Subclass Acari (mites and ticks)
Order Acariformes (mites)

Superfamily

Eriophyoidea

Family

Eriophyidae (gall and rust mites)

Subfamily

Phyllocoptinae

Tribe

Phyllocoptini

Genus

Vasates

   

Order
The family Eriophyidae was formerly classified within the order Trombidiformes, specifically in the suborder Prostigmata. However, molecular phylogenetic analyses, beginning in the early 2010s, have strongly challenged this placement. Current research indicates that Eriophyidae represents a very ancient and basal lineage within the order Acariformes. While Acariformes was historically treated as a superorder by some classifications, it is now widely recognized as one of the two major orders of mites (along with Parasitiformes). Due to ongoing debates about their precise relationships with other mite groups, Eriophyidae is currently placed directly under Acariformes without being assigned to a specific suborder.

   

Subordinate Taxa

 

   

Synonyms

 

   

Common Names

maple bladder gall mite

maple bladdergall mite

maple bladder-gall mite

maple gall mite

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

Leaf with bladder galls

maple bladdergall mite   maple bladdergall mite
     
maple bladdergall mite   maple bladdergall mite
     

Bladder galls

maple bladdergall mite   maple bladdergall mite

 

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Other Videos

Bladdergall Mite (Eriophyidae) Damage to Maple Leaf
Carl Barrentine

About

Uploaded on May 19, 2010

Photographed at Rydell NWR, Minnesota (18 May 2010).

Maple Gall Bladder and Mulberries
shootsandvines

About

Uploaded on May 6, 2010

Our maple tree has developed maple gall bladder. Mulberries on the tree. We have three trees. I'll be freezing this year and hopefully making some homemade wine.

 

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Created: 5/17/2012

Last Updated:

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