Apple Leaf Trumpet Miner Moth: Appearance, Territory, Damage and Life Cycle

Latin Name: Tishcheria Malifoliella

Appearance: Tischeriidae (Tesseriidae Family) (trumpet leaf miner moths) There are around 80 species, the majority of which are located in North America. Adults are little golden-brown moths with white bands or patches that give them a silvery look while flying in the sunshine.

Hosts Plants: Larvae feed on apple and hawthorn leaves.

Territory: North America

Damage Insect Cause: The damage caused by leafminers is restricted to the leaves. In a severe infestation, about 60% of the leaf tissue may be destroyed. Larvae feed on cells in the epidermal layers between the top and bottom of the leaf, leaving only the thin epidermal layers. The leaf’s upper side seems brilliant and mottled. Premature defoliation can occur if there are more than 5 to 10 mines per leaf. Even if trees are not defoliated, leaf function is harmed, and fruit maturity and color may be affected. Every year, low levels of leafminer populations may be found in most orchards; numbers are normally managed at low levels by many parasitic species. Leafminers only become pests when broad-spectrum pesticides used to combat codling moths interrupt their natural enemies.

Life History and Habits: In the spring, eggs are laid in young leaves from the tight cluster bloom stage until petal fall. Larvae emerge from the tissue of the leaf. Sap-feeders are the first three instars that eat sap from the leaves. Sap-feeders have a white, flat, legless body and a brown, wedge-shaped head. They develop snake-like mines in the leaf, which are only visible on the bottom surface of the leaf. Tissue-feeders are larvae in their fourth and fifth stages that feed mostly on leaf tissue rather than sap. Tissue feeders have legs and prolegs as well as a spherical head. These older larvae build tents by tying the edges of the leaf together with silk. Leafminers spend the winter in mines in the leaves on the orchard floor.