Coneflower Rosette Mite Gall (Family Eriophyidae) on Echinacea sp.

The green tufted growth on the disc of this coneflower is caused by a tiny eriophyid mite. These mites cause flower head distortion by feeding at the base of the flowers. Eriophyid mites are unique in that they only have 2 pairs of legs (most mites have 4 pairs), and they are so tiny that you would need 40x magnification to see them clearly (most mites can be seen with a 10x hand lens).

The mite has yet to be taxonomically categorized, so it has no scientific name. But, it's generally referred to as the Coneflower Rosette Mite based on the damage that it causes to coneflowers.

Here are the mites from the gall:

comments (4)

morpheme

Lion

That's neat - I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. I don't know if I even would have recognized that it was a gall... it mimics the flower itself well, other than the color. Posted 3 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  A few years ago, when I first saw echinacea flowers that looked like this, I thought they were just deformed. But, when someone IDed them as galls, I was definitely surprised! Very neat.
  
  Here's some research on them:
  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360450523_The_coneflower_rosette_mite_Eriophyoidea_new_insights_into_an_established_pest_of_Echinacea_spp_Asteraceae?channel=doi&linkId=627952e93a23744a72704981&showFulltext=true Posted 3 years ago

Neptune

Lion

Love it! Posted 3 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Thank you! Posted 3 years ago

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