leaf miner

American  

Or leafminer

noun

1. 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.

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leaf miner British  

noun

1. 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

2. the adult insect of any of these larvae

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Etymology

Origin of leaf miner

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

Guglya came around to them and has discovered 25 species in the leaf miner family.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 6, 2022

More than 1,500 people have contributed over 50,000 leaf miner observations there, representing over 800 species.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 2, 2022

The cereal leaf miner, which was once restricted to Syria, can now be found throughout neighbouring Jordan and Iraq, he says.

From Nature • Sep. 25, 2013

In addition to Azteca, other ant species protect scale, and some of these ants are predators of the coffee berry borer and leaf miner, which are also coffee pests.

From US News • Aug. 30, 2010

In California, for example, the loss of some 60,000 game fish, mostly blue- gill and other sunfish, followed an attempt to control the rice- leaf miner with dieldrin.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson