Locust Leafminer
Odontota dorsalis |
| USDA Forest Service. 1979. A guide to common insects and diseases of forest trees in the northeastern United States. Northeast. Area State Priv. For., For. Insect and Disease Management., Broomall, PA. p. 123, illus. |
The locust leafminer prefers the leaves of black locust, but will attack apple, birch, wild cherry, elm, and oak. The emerging adults skeletonize and eat holes in the unfolding leaves. The larvae mine the tissue between the leaf surfaces, causing damage ranging from light-brown leaf patches to general defoliation. Although extensive stands are sometimes defoliated, the trees are seldom killed.
The adult is an elongate, flat-bodied beetle with a black head and thorax and bright orange wingcovers. Adults overwinter in bark crevices or under soil debris, emerge in the spring, and feed for a short period. Females lay eggs in groups of three to five on the lower surfaces of leaves. Young larvae bore into the leaf and feed in a common mine, while full-grown larvae separate and mine individually. Mature larvae are yellowish-white, flattened, and about ΒΌ of an inch in length. Pupation occurs in the larval mines. There is only one generation per year.
Adult(s); feeding on leaf
Photo by Bruce W. Kauffman, Tennessee Department of Agriculture
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Adult(s); Adult feeding injury
Photo by Tim Tigner, Virginia Department of Forestry |
Life Cycle ; left to right, eggs, larva, pupa, adult
Photo by Bruce W. Kauffman, Tennessee Department of Agriculture |
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