Symptoms - Damage

Numerous chlorotic nutritional bites are first observed on the leaf blade in the presence of leafminers ; they can be very numerous and are carried out by the females with their ovipositor. Mines (figures 1 to 3) subsequently appear on the leaves, the most affected sometimes carrying around twenty larvae per leaf. They may turn yellow (Figures 4-6), wilt and dry out.

The photosynthetic activity of plants, their growth and yields can thus be greatly reduced during an infestation. Controlling the populations of these pests is often problematic because of their possible resistance to several insecticides, the latter also eliminating useful fauna (Hymenoptera parasitoids). Let us add that during very strong outbreaks, observed in particular in tropical areas, the fruits show burns ( solar burns ) because many mined and altered leaves no longer protect them from solar radiation.