Typically, the damage is only cosmetic, and the plants continue to live a healthy life. They leave behind a distinct trail of maze-lime damage on plants. It’s fairly easy to identify the damage caused by a leaf miner infestation because these pests feed on parts of the plants with tissue containing the lowest levels of cellulose and tannins. You can have several generations of leaf miners in one single year, so it’s clear how quickly a leaf miner infestation can start. Then, 15 days later, they emerge as an adult fly. When they’re ready to pupate, they ditch the leaf and drop to the soil, digging 1-2 inches into the ground. This is when they leave behind the wavy lines that are visible on the surface. The eggs hatch within ten days, and the larvae start to eat their way through the leaf tissue. It can be hard to spot the eggs under the surface they appear as small raised bumps in the leaf. Mated females use a needle-like ovipositor to lay up to 250 eggs under the surface of the leaf epidermis. they’re ready to start laying eggs in your garden.
By late April, they’re young adults.Īt that point. Then, as the spring temperatures warm up the ground, the larvae mature to their pupal stage. It all starts when mature larvae overwinter in the soil under the plants. Understanding the lifecycle of leaf miners is essential to controlling them. This species is smaller than spinach leaf miners, only measuring around 1/15 inch in length.The larvae don’t have legs or a head and are yellow-green with a cylindrical shape.The larvae look like snakes that leave behind winding mines.This variety prefers beans, eggplants, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, and other edible plants.Īside from looking at the plants they infect, here are some different ways to identify this species. Vegetable leaf miners feed on different plants than spinach leaf miners. Once matured, the adult flies are hairy, measure ¼ inch long, and are between grey and brown.They create tunnels between the two leaf surfaces.The larvae are whitish and look like little carrots.There are a few ways to pinpoint spinach leaf miner larvae: The mines are long and narrow at first, then become an irregular shaped patch. This species is a type of blotch leaf miner that creates irregular round-shaped mines. There are two common types of leaf miners, though keep in mind that there are several other varities out there: Spinach Leaf miners They lay their eggs on the underside of leaves. The larvae look like worm-like maggots that can be pale yellow, dark brown, or light green.Īdults measure 1/10 inch long and are typically black or grey flies with yellow stripes and transparent wings. As you can tell, they don’t pick one particular type of plant, which makes it harder to track these insects. Host plants for leaf miners can include beans, blackberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, peppers, citrus trees, aspens trees, shrubs, and a variety of ornamental flowers. You can also narrow down the leaf miner type by watching which plants are targeted. If you pay close attention to the patterns, you can identify the specific leaf miner variety that’s attacking your plants.
That pattern of lines is a feeding tunnel created by the leaf miners as they chew through plants. The first thing you might notice is distinct, discolored lines on foliage since these pests live inside leaves. These larvae live inside plant leaves, feeding and growing until they reach maturity.īasically, leaf miners are the larval – or maggot – stage of several insect families. But these ancient edibles would probably make a nice addition to your foodscape, even if that weren’t the case.The term leaf miners is a catch-all that describes the larvae of three insect species: Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera. Research has shown that eating Malabar gourds can help reduce the complication associated with diabetes. In fact, these plants are often used commercially as rootstock for other cucurbits. Harvested fruit can last for several years if kept dry.īeing something of an ancient rogue, Malabar gourds have very few pest or disease problems. Being heat lovers, only the sturdiest plants can handle brief periods of frost.
They need regular irrigation and good drainage.
These plants can grow in partial sun to full sun. Seeds should be planted one- to two- inches deep in loamy, nutrient-rich soil. Tendrils covered with soil can also develop roots and be cut from the parent plant to create the next generation. You can grow Malabar gourds from seed or by layering an existing plant in USDA Hardiness Zones 3–11.