Maple leafblotch miner

Latin name: Cameraria aceriella (Clemens)
French name: Mineuse de l'érable
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Gracillariidae
Synonym(s): Lithocolletis aceriella Clemens

Description

Distribution

Eastern Canada

Micro-habitat(s)

Leaf

Damage, symptoms and biology

Damage on leaf surfaces is sufficient evidence of the maple leafminer's presence. The larvae mine into the parenchyma, just under the upper surface of the leaf. At the end of summer, the damage becomes more obvious because the caterpillars wrap silk around part of their mines so they can change to pupae the following spring.

Part of the population overwinters in the larval form inside leaves that have fallen to the ground and pupates the following spring. The other part overwinters as pupae.

Life cycle (East of the Rockies)

Life cycle (East of the Rockies)
Stage/Month	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Egg
Larva
Pupa
Adult

Other information

Local infestations of the maple leafminer occur occasionally. The species does not cause serious damage to trees, although it adversely affects the aesthetics of ornamental trees.

This insect can be controlled by gathering and burning the dead leaves that fall during autumn.

Canadian Forest Service Publications

Maple leafblotch miner

Diet and feeding behaviour

Phyllophagous : Feeds on the leaves of plants.
- Miner: Feeds inside the blade of a leaf, between the epidermal layers, or beneath the bark of plants, by first excavating a mine into these tissues.

Information on host(s)