Acalitus rudis

Description

Acalitus rudis is a gall mite that causes galls to form on the leaves of Birch (Betula species). The gall is an erineum between the veins of the leaf. It is usually on the underside of the leaf, with or without a bulge on the other side. The hairs are quite long, white or yellowish when young, later a deep red brown.

Similar Species

Other mites can cause an erineum (hairy patch) to form on birch leaves

Identification difficulty

Gall Adult

Habitat

Where the host Birch species are found.

When to see it

Whenever Birch is in leaf.

UK Status

This is the commonest erineum on Birch, but it remains difficult to determine the exact status in Britain due to lack of records.

VC55 Status

Status in Leicestershire and Rutland not known.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Species group:
Mites, Ticks & Pseudoscorpions
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Trombidiformes
Family:
Eriophyidae
Records on NatureSpot:
13
First record:
07/07/2016 (Grimes, Martin)
Last record:
03/06/2022 (McLoughlin, Margaret)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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