Pea Leafminer: Appearance, Territory, Damage and Life Cycle

Latin Name: Liriomyza Huidobrensis

Appearances: Leaf miners are little yellow and black insects that are barely a few millimeters long as adults. Only a small number of the larvae remain attached to the leaf and pupate there, occasionally on the upper surface, but more often on the underside. Adult leaf miners have a similar appearance to house flies. They’re about a tenth of an inch long on average. In addition to being black or grey in color with yellow stripes and clear wings, they are also black or grey in color. Larvae resemble small worms or maggots, measuring about 13 inches long and tinted green or pale yellow.

Host Plants: Bean, eggplant, pepper, potato, squash, tomato, and watermelon are examples of hosts. In California, Oatman (1959) reported a comparable host range, as well as the adaptability of cucumber, beet, pea, lettuce, and a variety of other composites.

Territory: They live on broadleaf trees such as elm, aspen, hawthorn, and poplar, as well as shrubs and bushes such as lilacs.

Damage Caused: Plants are harmed both directly and indirectly by leaf miners. The larvae do the most direct damage by mining the leaf tissue, resulting in desiccation, early leaf fall, and cosmetic damage. This can cause fruit such as tomato and melon to burn in tropical and subtropical locations. The loss of leaves decreases yield as well. However, in fully developed plants of fruiting vegetable crops, a significant amount of foliage can be damaged before the harvest is harmed.

Life Cycle and Habits: The egg, three larval instars, a pupal instar, and the adult fly are the phases of a leaf miner’s life cycle. Leaf miners are little yellow and black insects that are barely a few millimeters long as adults. Adult females use their serrated ovipositor to drill a hole in the upper side of the leaf when feeding or laying eggs. The oval egg marks are difficult to differentiate from feeding patches. Liriomyza Huidobrensis larvae are filthy white and translucent. When the larva emerges from the egg, it immediately starts eating into the leaf, tunnelling down into the mesophyll tissue, where extensive mines cause damage, while the outer layers of the leaf and stalk remain undamaged. The adult larva rips a sickle-shaped exit hole in the leaf with its mouth parts shortly before pupating. The larva crawls out of the leaf and falls to the ground after about an hour. This happens in the early hours of the morning. To pupate, the larva crawls into the ground. Only a small number of the larvae remain attached to the leaf and pupate there, occasionally on the upper surface, but more often on the underside.