Everything about Leaf Miner totally explained
Leaf miners are
insect larvae that live within
leaf tissue. Many cause damage to
garden plants and
crops.
Like
wood borers, leaf miners are difficult to control as they're protected from
insecticide sprays and plant defenses by feeding within the tissues of the leaves themselves, selectively eating only the layers that have the least amount of
cellulose. In attacking
Quercus robur they also selectively feed on tissues containing low
tannin levels, which the
tree has produced in greater abundance as a defence. The precise pattern formed by the feeding tunnel is very often diagnostic for which kind of insect is responsible, sometimes even to
genus level. The mine often contains
frass, or droppings, and the pattern of frass deposition, mine shape and host plant identity are useful to determine the species of leaf miner. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are
moths (
Lepidoptera) and flies (
Diptera), though some
beetles and
wasps also exhibit this behavior. A few mining insects utilise other parts of a plant, such as the surface of a
fruit.
British leafminers
is an excellent resource on the British leaf mining fauna, many of which are distributed widely across Europe.
Treatment
Leaf miner infection can be reduced or prevented by planting
trap crops near the plants to be protected. For example,
lambsquarter,
columbine, and
velvetleaf will distract leaf miners, drawing them to those plants and therefore reducing the incidence of attack on nearby crops. This is a method of
companion planting.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Leaf Miner'.
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