What Plants Do Leaf Miners Attack ?
Leaf miners actually attack all kinds of plants, but their favorites are the fruit bearing plants, especially the citrus ones. Leaf miners are a broad term used to describe the larvae of flies mainly, and also insects, beetles, wasps and moths. There are several of them which actually feed on plants and fruits. |
Leaf miner infestation is quite difficult to tackle. The larvae bore through the leaf and reside in the tissue of the leaf. They feed on the tissue till the leaf dies and falls off. Then, they move on to the next leaf. However, if the infestation is heavy, then plants can die in no time.
Leaf miners are found especially on lemon trees, orange, and tomatoes. There are several kinds of leaf miners and they are actually difficult to identify. However, the kind of damage that leaf miners cause is very identical. The leaves turn yellow or copper in color on the plants even when there is ample sunlight.
If you take a closer look at the leaf that is turning yellow, then you will find small curved larvae-like things inside the plant tissue. The leaf miner actually has several predators, but they do not easily find them because the leaf miners are not visible. Since they reside inside the plant tissue, even insecticides may not be effective half the time.
If you are growing fruits or vegetables like tomatoes and lemons, then you should take precautions much before and should spray insecticides without giving scope for the miners to grow and multiply.
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