Question
This is what it looks
hi, i have a hawthorn tree in my yard. i live in Edmonton Alberta, and its zone 3b, but its also borderline 3a. the tree has strange fuzzy squiggles on the top of the leaves. they're only on the leaves at the end of the branches right now. there are aphids on some of the leaves, but not the ones with the squiggles.
can you please tell me what this is, and what to do about it?
AnswerMarisa:
Cool photo! This does look like a type of leaf gall. There are thousands of these out there on different plants. More than likely, this one is caused by a very small critter called a mite. These things are called insects by mistake- they have 8 legs instead of 6. Galls (swellings) come in different sizes and colors.
Generally, they don't have a significant impact on the overall health of our trees, thus chemicals are seldom used, just raking leaves up before the spring bud swell is sufficient. Many of these critters overwinter on the fallen leaves, so a good cleanup is all that is necessary.
Regards
Steve
