Diptera

Leaf miners

What are leaf miners?

Leaf miners belong to the order Diptera (the true flies) and form the family Agromyzidae. This is a family of small flies whose larvae tunnel into the leaves of plants, creating ‘mines’. There are many species of leaf miner affecting various crops in temperate parts of the world. Under natural conditions, the larvae of these species are parasitized by parasitic wasps and so cause few problems. However, the use of chemical insecticides kills these natural enemies, allowing the leaf miner population to erupt into serious numbers. In addition, the pesticides used to control leaf miners disrupt the biological control of other crop pests. The leaf miner species that cause damage in horticultural crops are mostly polyphagous; that is, they feed on many crops. However, this is not universal among the Agromyzidae. Of the approximately 2,500 species in this family, only eleven are truly polyphagous. The species that cause most damage all belong to the genus Liriomyza and are very common in temperate regions.

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Life cycle of leaf miners

Leaf miner species

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Leaf miner control videos

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How to get rid of leaf miners

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