Leaf galls on Sycamore
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Leaf galls on Sycamore by Lairich Rig as part of the Geograph project.
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Leaf galls on Sycamore
Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 24 May 2018
The galls are caused by mites, which I believe(*) to be of the species Aceria cephalonea (syn. Artacris cephaloneus). The tree itself is between the cycle path and the River Leven, not far from a Image - - • - - (*) The identification is according to the keys (specifically, the text) in "British Plant Galls" (2ed; Redfern & Shirley, 2011), and is based in large part on the host, the size of the galls, and the fact that the apex, where there is one, is very blunt and rounded. The accompanying illustrations to that key give a quite different impression, suggesting that these are the galls of Aceria macrorhyncha (synonyms Aceria macrorhynchus and Artacris macrorhynchus). Nevertheless, I have found the galls of that species to be typically much more pointed (Image). It may be that the illustrations are, in this case, a little misleading, or perhaps the appearance of the galls changes as they become more mature.
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Image Location
Latitude
55.967147
Longitude
-4.579817