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A leaf miner is a species, the larva of which lives and feeds for a part of all of its time between the epidermal layers of a leaf. The willow leaf blotch miner's larvae are tiny caterpillars that eat the soft, green cell tissue between the upper and lower leaf surfaces. Laurel leaf willow is almost exclusively infested with this insect, but other willow species get attacked as well. The miner leaves ugly blackish brown blotches on nearly every leaf of the plant (see photo). If the dried, paper-like surface is pried apart, a central row of fine black debris will be noted. This is the larva's excretion waste.
The damage is strictly cosmetic as the willow will not die or become seriously affected by the feeding. Though chemicals offer very little control, plants can be sprayed with horticultural oil next April to smother the overwintering eggs on branches. |
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