Leaf miners can be a major garden pest, feeding off live plant tissue, and can cause damage to many vegetable plants. Specifically, leaf miners are larva of insects that live within a plant’s inner tissue. Most leaf miners are lava of moths, sawflies, and flies, though some leaf miners are larva of beetles and wasps. One interesting note is that the feeding pattern and tunnel of the leaf miner is often a good diagnosis for the exact type of leaf miner affecting your plant.
To reduce the harm caused to your vegetable garden, allow lambs quarters to grow nearby. which help to deter leaf miners from feeding in your garden area.
Cover Image by Eran Finkle, used under its Creative Commons license.
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