Container Gardening Complete

Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete

700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 182 6/5/17 3:10 PM
Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete
Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete

700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 183 5/24/17 12:18 PM

182 chapter 4

Leafhoppers (many species)

North American geographical range: All

Identification: Adults are wedge-shaped, slender

insects, measuring as much as^1 ⁄ 4 in. long. They

can be green, yellow, brown, or brightly colored.

Leafhoppers move sideways, like a crab, or jump

when disturbed. Nymphs look like adults, only

smaller and without wings. Leafhopper adults

and nymphs are often found on leaf undersides

side by side. The old, molted skins of leafhoppers

are sometimes present on leaf undersides as well,

along with the dark specks of their excrement.

Plants affected: Leafhoppers feed on hundreds of

different plants; many are host-specific. Choice

hosts include roses, potatoes, grapes, beans,

lettuce, beets, and many others.

Feeding habits and damage: Feeding damage

appears as mottled stippling or pale spots on

infested leaves caused by the insect’s sap-

sucking behavior. Severely damaged leaves may

curl up and fall from the plant. Some species

of leafhoppers transmit various plant diseases,

leading to problems that extend beyond their

feeding damage.

Physical controls: Leafhoppers are fast-moving,

making them somewhat difficult to control.

Adults overwinter in crop debris and unmowed

areas. Remove debris soon after the last garden

harvest to reduce overwintering sites. Use

floating row covers early in the season to prevent

leafhoppers from damaging plants.

Product controls: Insecticidal soap and

horticultural oil help reduce populations, but

covering the leaf undersides when spraying is a

must. Pyrethrins are also somewhat effective.

Leaf hoppers, such as this candy-striped leafhopper, feed by sucking out leaf juices with their piercing-sucking mouth

part. There are about 2,500 species of leafhoppers in North America, but most are not problematic to gardeners.

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Troubleshooting 183

Leaf Miner (many species)

North American geographical range: All

Identification: Leaf miner damage is fairly easy to

spot in your garden, though you seldom see the

insects themselves. Leaf miners are the larvae of

several different species of flies. Adult flies are

about^1 ⁄ 4 in. long and are often black with yellow

markings. The larvae are tiny, green or brown

maggots that feed inside plant leaves.

Plants affected: Different species of leaf miners

feed on different species of plants. A few likely

victims include spinach, Swiss chard, beets,

hollies, columbine, nasturtiums, peas, blueberries,

and boxwood.

Feeding habits and damage: These tunneling

insects feed between layers of leaf tissue,

“mining” out the material in between. They

leave behind clear evidence of their presence in

the form of squiggly trails and splotches on the

leaves. In most cases, their damage is not severe

enough to warrant using any control products.

It’s largely aesthetic damage, particularly on

ornamental plants.

Physical controls: A layer of floating row cover

over spinach, beet, and chard plants is enough to

prevent the adult leaf miners from laying eggs on

the plants’ leaves. If you do see their distinctive

squiggly feeding pattern on a leaf, simply cut off

and destroy that individual leaf. Wait to plant

beets and chard until after the lilacs bloom;

the species of leaf miner they host is no longer

active at that time. There are also several species

of parasitic wasps that help control leaf miners

by laying eggs inside of them while they’re still

inside the leaf. You can encourage these beneficial

insects by including plants like dill, fennel, and

cilantro in your container garden. These three

plants provide nectar to the tiny, non-stinging

parasitic wasps.

Product controls: Since leaf miner maggots are

nestled between layers of plant tissue, it’s difficult

to manage them with spray products, but neem

and spinosad are the most effective. Early season

sprays of hot pepper wax deter the females from

laying eggs on any plants where it’s been applied.

Leaf miners are tiny insect larvae that tunnel between

layers of leaf tissue, leaving squiggly lines and

splotches behind. Swiss chard is a common host plant.

While some leaf miner species feed on spinach,

chard, beets, and other vegetable crops, others use

ornamental plants, including this columbine, as hosts.

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