leaf miner

or leafminer

noun

any of the larvae of any of numerous insects, as moths of the family Gracilariidae, that live in and feed on the parenchyma of leaves.

Origin of leaf miner

First recorded in 1820–30

Words Nearby leaf miner

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use leaf miner in a sentence

Its most deadly enemy in the insect world is a small insect of the lepidopterous variety, which is known as the coffee-leaf miner.
All About Coffee | William H. Ukers
These so-called "leaf-miner" caterpillars make white irregularly-winding tunnels between the upper and the lower skin of the leaf.
The Romance of Plant Life | G. F. Scott Elliot
The cabbage leaf miner is not a native of this country, but was imported from Europe.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 803, May 23, 1891 | Various
Bud caterpillars, the leaf-miner or split-worm and the Tobacco flea beetle are minute beetles which attack it.
Tobacco Leaves | W. A. Brennan
The locust has also been attacked by the twig borer, bag worm and the leaf miner.
Trees of Indiana | Charles Clemon Deam

British Dictionary definitions for leaf miner

leaf miner

noun

any of various insect larvae that bore into and feed on leaf tissue, esp the larva of dipterous flies of the genus Philophylla (family Trypetidae) and the caterpillar of moths of the family Gracillariidae
the adult insect of any of these larvae

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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