Getting rid of leaf miners and disrupting their lifecycle requires a multi-method approach. Because the burrowing pests live in leaves, sprays are not always effective for larvae. However, natural sprays can help kill pupae and adult leaf miners. Cultivating trap crops like velvetleaf and lamb’s quarters around the boundaries of your growing areas. Leaf miners will be attracted to these plants, and hopefully will venture no further to find a place to lay eggs. Predatory Wasps These leafminers are also commonly called snout beetles due to the odd shape of their head. Mature insects of this variety are among the most damaging to crops. The tiny wasps lay roughly 50 eggs during their brief life. Every female egg laying predatory wasp is responsible for destroying about 350 leaf miner larvae.

The serpentine mine tunnels are long, thin, and winding – like the body of a snake. There are typically ample bends in the serpentine mine tunnels and the lines run in a single direction, like a section of road. Pale blotches on your spinach? Wandering trails of not-so-green lines on your squash leaves? These are telltale signs that you’ve got leaf miners! Here’s how to identify, get rid of, and prevent leaf miners on yourplants. What Are LeafMiners? The leaf miner then burrows to the edge of the leaf, causing it to curl up. The leaf miner larvae goes into the pupal stage, where it takes between one and three weeks to develop into a leaf miner insect. Spray the vinegar solution in and around the nest. This spray may anger the bees, so wear protective clothing and spray the nest at night to prevent bee stings from female bees. Understanding the lifecycle of leaf miners is essential to controlling them. It all starts when mature larvae overwinter in the soil under the plants. Then, as the spring temperatures warm up the ground, the larvae mature to their pupal stage. By late April, they’re young adults.

Funding

Spencer, K.A. Agromyzidae. In Manual of Nearctic Diptera; McAlpine, J.F., Ed.; Monograph No. 28; Research Branch, Agriculture Canada: Ottawa, ON, Canada, 1987; Volume 2, pp. 869–879. [ Google Scholar] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmu1G30Nltg Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Life cycle of leaf miners (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmu1G30Nltg) Tenthredinidae (sawfly leaf miner): anatomically diverse larvae in this family may have stripes or spots, and range from yellowish green, to brown; host plants include hundreds of plants as this family encompasses several subfamilies Being able to identify and stop a leafminer infestation early is vital to stopping it before the entire orchard or garden becomes afflicted. Inspection

Use a floating row cover to prevent adult flies from reaching your plants. If you’re concerned about citrus leaf miners or leaf miner on citrus trees, cover the tree with the same fabric used for row covers and affix it at the trunk with some string. If they can’t reach the plant, they can’t lay their eggs. And if they can’t lay their eggs, the leaf miners can’t leave trails!Mujica, N.; Kroschel, J. Leafminer fly (Diptera: Agromyzidae) occurrence, distribution, and parasitoid associations in field and vegetable crops along the Peruvian coast. Environ. Entomol. 2011, 40, 217–230. [ Google Scholar] [ CrossRef] In cases like this, the serpentine mining tunnels are typically formed first and then the leaf miner larvae travel to yet uneaten portions of the leaf in search of more nourishment. Leaf Miner Varieties Jewel Beetles Remember, leaf miner larva will drop off the leaf and pupate in the soil directly under the plant. If you had leaf miners there before, they may emerge as adults and would already be under your rowcovers. Wasps to theRescue Proffit, M.; Birgersson, G.; Bengtsson, M.; Reis, R.; Witzgall, P.; Lima, E. Attraction and Oviposition of Tuta absoluta females in response to Tomato Leaf Volatiles. J. Chem. Ecol. 2011, 37, 565–574. [ Google Scholar] [ CrossRef] [ PubMed]

Using beneficial insects is like fighting fire with fire. Why go to all the work and trouble to fight garden pests when you can have an army do it for you? If you have a minor problem, biologics might be on the expensive side to handle your situation, although still a neat way to deal with the issue. But introducing predatory insects can be a game changer if you are a market gardener, have a big home garden, or have agreenhouse. While we won’t name every single one of the thousands of leaf miners out there, we’ll cover the basic categories of many, and the ones you’re most likely to find in your garden. Most often the preferred host of the leafminer in question will determine which you’re dealing with. Thankfully, leafminer treatment is similar across families and species.

Shaheen, S.; Anwar, S.; Hussain, Z. Technical efficiency of off-season cauliflower production in Punjab. J. Agric. Res. 2011, 49, 391–406. [ Google Scholar] Indian Myna birds are another feral import into Australia for pest control in crops that went horribly wrong. Not to be confused with t he grey Noisy Miner which is a native Australian bird in the honeyeater family and found in eastern and southeastern Australia.