Species:  
   
Liriomyza trifolii (Burgees, 1880)  
     
Common name:  
   
American serpentine leafminer  
     
Serpentine leaf miner  
     
Chrysanthemum leaf miner  
     
American clover miner  
     
gram pod borer  
     
Damaging stage:  
   
Larvae  
     
Crops Affected:  
   
Cucurbits, solanaceous, legumes, brassicas, onion  
     
Characteristic Damage:  
   
Larval feeding causes characteristic tunnels/ irregular mining patterns that enlarge as the larvae mature.  
     
Mining reduces the photosynthetic capacity of the leaves.  
     
Severe mining causes premature dropping of leaves.  
     
Management and Control:  
   
Monitor the area regularly.  
     
Use yellow sticky traps to reduce adult leaf miner.  
     
Remove and dispose properly heavily infested leaves.  
     
Cultivate the soil by plowing and harrowing and use plastic mulch to minimize pupation in the soil.  
     
Use of natural enemies like parasitic wasps from the families Braconidae, Eulophidae, and Pteromalidae can keep leaf miner population below economic threshold level.  
     
Apply insecticides like buprofesin, profenofos and  cyromazine when necessary.  
     
References:  
http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/30965  
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/leaf/a_serpentine_leafminer.htm  
http://www.extento.hawaii.edu/kbase/crop/type/liriom_t.htm  

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