Leaf miners

The small, silvery-white moths (also known as leaf bag moths) are only about three millimetres long and belong to a family of butterflies. The family comprises around 1,000 different species worldwide, of which around 230 are also found in Europe. Many of them specialise in a single host plant and cause damage that is characteristic of the respective species. Heavy infestations can lead to growth depression. The small butterflies fly mainly at dusk. They have a well-developed proboscis and long antennae. When at rest, the front body is usually raised. The narrow wings often have long fringes.

Caterpillars

In the first larval stages, the caterpillars have forward-facing mandibles (mouthparts), which enable them to pierce and suck out cells or to chew plant and animal food. The caterpillars eat their way through the leaf tissue and create numerous, typically shaped long feeding tunnels (miner's tunnels). After just a few days, the leaf dies around the tunnels, turns brown and dries out completely if heavily infested. In the later stages, larvae of different ages can look very different. In many species, the oldest larval stages live in curled leaves and gnaw on the inside of the leaves.

To read the full text, you must be a Premium Member of wein.plus. You are currently not logged in to wein.plus. Become a Premium Member or log in with your credentials .

Become a Premium Member of wein.plus

Voices of our members

For me, Lexicon from wein.plus is the most comprehensive and best source of information about wine currently available.
Egon Mark
Diplom-Sommelier, Weinakademiker und Weinberater, Volders (Österreich)

Welcome back!

Leaf miners

Caterpillars

To read the full text, you must be a Premium Member of wein.plus. You are currently not logged in to wein.plus. Become a Premium Member or log in with your credentials .

Voices of our members

The world's largest Lexicon of wine terms.

EVENTS NEAR YOU