Spindle-gall
Guides
Vasates aceriscrumena
maple spindle-gall mite
An eriophyid mite that induces distinctive fusiform (spindle-shaped) galls on maple leaves in the eastern United States. The microscopic mite is visible only through the galls it produces. Unlike the related maple bladder-gall mite, its galls are elongate rather than rounded. The species causes minimal harm to host trees despite the conspicuous galls.