There are a number of different insects whose larvae feed inside the leaves. These are referred to as "leafminers." Adults may be beetles, wasps, sawflies, moths or flies.
In the case of the Echium leaf miner, the pest is a caterpillar feeds underneath a blister-like, brown papery patch in between the veins on the undersurface of the leaf. The adult is a moth pictured below : Photo: courtesy of Ken Bond, Dept of Zoology, Ecology & Plant Science,
University College, National University of Ireland, Cork, Ireland)
Echium leaf miner was officially introduced in the mid to late 1980s in South Australia to control the noxious weed Echium plantigeneum or Patterson's Curse. In the photos above it is affecting leaves of an ornamental species, Echium pininana, found in the Asian Woodlands section of the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens.
Ref : Judy McMaugh pg. 179, University of Technology Sydney Website, pers. comm. Marcus Ragus
Great examples of this
ReplyDeleteThanks for this information. I think that my plants have this problem.
ReplyDeleteDo you know what I can do about it? Thanks, Judith