Alder leaf galls at Cae Ddol, Ruthin

Had a good walk up through Cae Ddol to the old bridge, and looked for a few leaf-miners and some galls.

I think this is Eriophyes laevis, one of the fairly common mite species that colonise Alder leaves. Most of these have now turned black, and presumably have gone over. There is an earlier post from Haysden Country Park, showing the chambers at an earlier stage.

This is Aceria nalepai (Eriophyes inangulis) with its chambers along the vein axils along the midrib, and the corresponding areas of unusual hairiness of the axils underneath the leaf. I have seen this at least once before, at Haysden Country Park near Tonbridge.

I might also have seen Taphrina tosquinetii on one Alder leaf.