Spotted tentiform leafminer

Phyllonorycter blancardella

The adult moth is 1/8 inch long and brown with white transverse stripes margined with black. Eggs are 1/10 inch in diameter, oval, and creamy to transparent in color. They are laid on the undersides of the leaves and are more difficult to see on cultivars with hairy foliage. Full-grown larvae are yellowish and 1/8 inch long at maturity.
Damage: Damage caused by this insect consists entirely of leafmining. Each completed mine reduces the leaf’s green tissue by about 5 percent. Sap-feeding mines are visible as light areas on the bottom of the leaf. The completed tissue-feeding mine buckles the leaf like a small tent and has white spots on the upper surface, hence the name spotted tentiform leafminer. Excessive mining combined with drought is particularly destructive. Because mines remain visible after the leafminer has emerged or been killed they must be opened to determine if they are active.

Plant Protection Products