Diagnostic characters

State Size Features

Larva Up to 8 mm, it has 5 pairs of tiny legs and is greenish yellow.

Adult 4 mm, Silver color. The wings end in fringes of hair and each wing has a black point at the rear end.

Phenological cycle

Egg Pupa Adult Adult Total cycle

Duration (d) at 20-25ºC 2-10 5-20 6-22 2-7 19-27

In spring, the females lay exclusively on the most tender leaves of citrus. After a few days the eggs hatch, the larvae penetrate the inside of the leaf and begin to undermine it. All larval development occurs inside the leaf, where it finally pupates in a chamber that it has previously prepared. The generations are happening and their maximums coincide with the buds of citrus, with the maximum population in summer and autumn. With the arrival of the cold the springs cease, the female can not make the laying and the population of the miner descends sharply. With spring, the tree will sprout again and the decimated population will begin to reproduce, but it will not be until the end of spring when major damage begins to be observed.

[Threshold temperature (° C) 9.7

Thermal Integral (Degrees day) 240

Annual generations

5-10

Symptoms / Damage

The larvae practice leaf and shoot mines.

The mine is sinuous and transparent, observing a row of excrement inside. Several larvae can coexist on the same leaf.

The leaves suffer a strong curl. The rolled sheet can serve as a refuge for other pests.

Of the three buds that citrus fruits have, the most important one is spring, since that is when most of the leaves are formed. The miner in this season has just left the winter and has a very low population so the damage is negligible, not affecting this first sprouting. So, in adult trees the damage produced by this insect is not of great importance, unlike in young plantations, where the normal growth of the plant can be reduced.