Eriophyes calaceris

Hosts: Acer glabrum

This is a colorful and impressive erineum on maple leaves caused by Eriophyes calaceris in the Western United States. The erineum growth is pustulelike, consisting of a brightly colored aggregation of tiny papillae. Each papilla is filled with colored fluid, and when magnified it has a rounded or capitate tip. The erineum appears on the upper surface of the leaf and is thickest from the apical half to the edge of the blade, missing the larger veins. It ranges from greenish yellow to pink, crimson, and purplish red. The infestation may be wide-spread on some trees.

The life history involves alternation of generations. The mites continue to colonize the erineum until September and then migrate to stems or twigs and bark crevices. Deutogynes overwinter in bark crevices and then move to newly developing buds in the spring. The inquiline eriophyids Aculops glabri (Keifer) and A. paraglabri (Keifer) are frequently in the erineum. Aculops paraglabri was recently found to be the overwintering form (deutogyne) of A. glabri and is therefore a synonym.

This mite was found abundant on Rocky Mountain maple in September in California. It is probably generally distributed throughout the range of the host plant from Alaska to California and east to South Dakota and New Mexico. Eriophyes calaceris may be confused with E. elongatus Hodgkiss, which commonly infests sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) in the Eastern United States. In addition to the differences in morphological structures, the erineum growths caused by each species are distinguished by their position, form, color, and density.

Aceria calaceris

Eriophyes calaceris

Hosts: Acer glabrum, Acer heldreichii, Acer macrophyllum

Relationship: These mites are found in and probably cause the red erineum on leaf tips [upper surface]; produce bright red erineum on upper leaf surfaces.

Notes: This mite's records from Acer negundo L. in the east are probably Aceria negundi (Hodgkiss, 1913) [white or brown erineum, not red]. All three erineum mites should be carefully studied and rearing studies conducted.

Range: CA, SD, WA

Eriophyes sp.

Acer glabrum

A purple erineum in large patches at the tips of the lobes and on the upper side of the leaf, sometimes sprinkled over the under side.

Eriophyes calaceris
Erineum mite

Hosts: Acer glabrum

Galls appear on the upper surfaces of leaves, mostly along the edges (although the erinea may cover entire leaves in some cases)

Range: from the Rocky Mountains to the West Coast and north into southeast Alaska

Eriophyes calaceris

Hosts: Acer glabrum

The mite is found in and presumably causes the magenta-colored erineum on the tips of the leaves of its host. This erineum is composed of hollow capitate hairs, containing magenta-colored fluid.

White erineum on the leaves of big- leaf maple, Acer macrophyllum, proves to have the same complex of mites as this magenta erineum, although the precise relationships have not been determined. (Two other mites found in this magenta erineum are listed under the names Vasates glabri and V. paraglabri.) Banks in 1907 gave the catalog name ryderi to a mite which was the subject of a short article in 1879 by J. A. Ryder. This name was then the one available for maple erineum mites in North America and Essig (1926) used it for white erineum mites on California maple. Leonard (1928) uses this name for maple mites in New York State. However, Hodgkiss (1930) after a careful study of New York maple mites concludes that there is no way to apply the name. The writer, on examining Ryder's original article finds that while Ryder states the mite he saw to be a Phytoptus, he has omitted any mention of a locality, or the color of the erineum inhabited by the mites, or the precise species of maple infested. The conclusion here presented is that the name ryderi is useless.

Eriophyes calaceris

The purple erineum maple mite, E. calaceris (Keifer), causes dense, magenta-colored, hairlike growths on the underside [sic] of leaves of Acer glabrum.