Garden Pests and Diseases: Vasates quadripedes- ewwww ick!, 1 by Equilibrium
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Subject: Vasates quadripedes- ewwww ick!
Forum: Garden Pests and Diseases
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Equilibrium wrote: Thought since it is May that somebody might like to see a photo I took of a White Maple that is pretty infested by Vasates quadripedes. The maple bladdergall mite (V. quadripedes) is a native pest in eastern North America. It prefers silver maple (A. saccharinum) and red maple (A. rubrum) foliage. The globular growths start out green and then they turn this attractive brilliant red before they eventually turn black. If the leaves are really loaded with bladdergall mites, they will sometimes be deformed which isn't a big deal. The galls are actually hollow as the mite exits from the underside of the leaf. I want to try to watch this tree and see if I can get any photos of mites emerging. Several of my neighbors were panicking because they found these galls on their maples. I showed them that I had them too and that was when I decided to take a photo. I thought the photo was really neat. If you have these mites, don't freak out. For right now, I'm going to go with an insecticidal soap more so because these mites really do very little damage although they make one feel as if one should go out and nuke the entire tree. Whatever mites are left my Green Lacewings will devour. I've got a lot of those dainty Green Lacewings around here. I think ladybugs like to munch on the little mites too. Early next spring before the leaf buds break, I'll zap all the bark on this tree with dormant oil because that's where the adult mites overwinter. Later on, I could hit it with a miticide but I won't as these bladdergall mites don't ever really cause damage to a tree. It's only cosmetic for all practical purposes which is why I'll probably go back to using an inseciticidal soap or just leaving them be. If you feel like using a miticide, you allegedly need to do it when the leaves are just beginning to unfurl and then I've read that you are supposed to spray the leaves again in another 10 days. The product I would go for would be Safer Insecticidal Soap but there are others. Here's a photo I found of the galls when they are nice and green- http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/ornamentals/4-3... Here's some more really great photos- http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/... Great article here- http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2004.html |