Plant gall damage is usually an aesthetic problem and is not considered serious. The growths are Ash Flower Gall. Your galls are caused by Eriophyid mites - these tiny mites typically overwinter on their host plant. Description: Adult gall mites are approximately 0.2 mm long; they are … The small special growths are often a light yellow, green, red, or brownish colour and are normally on the top surface of the leaves. Synonyms; Eriophyes fraxinivorus Phytoptus fraxini Aceria fraxinivorus. ASH FLOWER GALL. The galls, or tumor-like growths, are produced by the tree in response to chemicals injected into it by an adult or larval gall-making insect. If one has a male ash tree, expect to find round, green masses (ash flower galls) forming in the male flower clusters during the spring of the year. They begin feeding and initiate gall formation in spring as leaf or flower buds open. Can I Control Ash Flower Gall Mites? Integrated Pest Management Strategies. Common galls caused by eriophyid mites include ash flower gall. Trying to control the ash flower gall mites requires spraying on the day that the buds first start forming. Galls are abnormal growths that occur on leaves, twigs, roots, or flowers of many plants. Green ash is commonly attacked by a small mite that feeds on the male flowers in the spring. This usually occurs in the spring. In general, galls provide a home for the insect, where it can feed, lay eggs, and develop. (Erineum galls result from the enlargement of plant hairs on the leaf.) Aceria fraxinivora, also known as the cauliflower gall mite and the ash key gall, causes the growths, known as galls, found on the hanging seeds or "keys" of the common ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior). Damage of gall-forming eriophyd mites can be placed into on of eight groups based on the appearance of the galls: blister, leaf-curling, pouchgall, fingergall, budgall, witches broom, erineum, or flower or fruit distorting. It’s amazing how many tiny things can live on a tree, without anyone really ever noticing. The galls can remain on the tree for more than one season, which can result in a more unsightly look. Ash leaves, petioles and green twigs can be infected by the fungus. Such is the case of the Eriophyid mite, the cause of spindle galls on your tree leaves.When spindle galls get you down, take a look at this article for more information about them and how they affect your plants. Each group of galls dries to an unsightly brown where it remains on trees over the winter. 1. Pests of Trees and Shrubs Ash flower gall mite Aceria fraxiniflora Order Acari, Family Eriophyidae; leaf vagrant, gall, erinea, rust, or eriophyid mites Native pest Host plants: Ash trees ( Fraxinus spp.) Galls on infected petioles often … Later, wart-like galls develop on the undersides of leaves, petioles and green twigs. In the early spring, the surfaces of the tree leaves develop small spherical growths called galls. 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