''Vasates quadripedes'', the maple bladder-gall mite, is an eriophyid mite in the genus ''

Vasates ''Vasates'' is a genus of mites in the family Eriophyidae, which cause galls on the leaves of trees, including the following species: *''Vasates aceriscrumena'' (Riley & Vasey, 1870) *''Vasates quadripedes'' (Henry Shimer, Shimer, 1869) Referen ...

'', which causes

gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...

s on the leaves of silver maple (''

Acer saccharinum ''Acer saccharinum'', commonly known as silver maple, creek maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, large maple, water maple, swamp maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to the eastern and central United States and southeastern Canad ...

''), red maple ('' A. rubrum''), and sugar maple ('' A. saccharum''). The gall is rounded, sometimes elongate, and has a short, thin neck. Typically, galls are in diameter, and may be numerous on the upper surfaces of leaves. They have an opening in the lower surface. At first they are yellowish-green or bright red, later they become dark red and black. In Britain, the mite affects introduced silver maple. The species is relatively new to Britain, being first recorded in London in 2002.

References

Eriophyidae Animals described in 1869 Arachnids of Europe Taxa named by Henry Shimer {{Acari-stub