Leafminers

DSC_2694Leafminers are larvae of certain moths, flies, beetles, and sawflies that feed between the epidermal layers of leaves. These insects are typically quite host-specific, and the form of the mine varies considerably depending on what insect produces it. As a result, it is often possible to identify the responsible insect using only the host plant and mine characteristics, but no one has previously attempted to organize this information into a usable guide.

Since 2011, I have been compiling all of the published natural history information for leafminers occurring in the continental US and Canada, integrating my own observations and rearing records, as well as those from various online sources. I have traveled extensively to search for leafminers in different bioregions, and have written or coauthored over 60 peer-reviewed publications documenting some of my new discoveries, including the description of over 70 new species.

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In June 2019, I completed the first edition of Leafminers of North America, a self-published e-book that I made available in 18 monthly installments of searchable PDFs. It is 1857 pages long (plus a 54-page table of contents, 20-page glossary, and 68-page bibliography), illustrated with thousands of color photographs. The book begins with a 30-page overview of the natural history and terminology of leafminers, followed by over 100 pages about their parasitoids and predators, and then nearly 250 pages devoted to overviews of all the different groups of leaf-mining insects, supplemented with photographs of adult and immature stages. These introductory chapters include checklists of the described species of North American leafminers: 37 sawfly species, over 200 beetles, several hundred flies, and over 1200 moths. The remainder of the book consists of photographically illustrated dichotomous keys to leaf mines organized by hostplant genus, along with species accounts detailing the larval habits, hostplant species, and geographic distribution. Literature references are provided throughout. In December 2022, I completed the second edition, which is 2213 pages long with 168 pages of “front matter.”

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The entire first edition is now available on a sliding scale starting at $5 (US). For $90, you will receive the full second edition plus a lifetime subscription to updates; I began sending out the third edition in monthly installments in October 2023. For those who would prefer to spread out the cost, monthly, semiannual, and annual subscriptions are available. For those who feel moved to contribute to my research* beyond a book subscription, I am offering the same “thank you” gifts as on my Patreon page:

  • $120 or more per year ($10 or more per month): a 1-year subscription plus a signed 8 x 10 print of one of my photographs (you get to choose which one; it could be one from the book, or one you’ve seen on my blog or on BugGuide).
  • $240 or more ($20 or more per month): all of the above plus a 12-month leafminer-themed calendar, which will be sent out by the end of November.
Single payment options (Upon receipt of payment, I will send a link from which the whole book can be downloaded—the second edition and the completed portion of the third edition—usually within 24 hours of purchase. If you don’t see an email from me within a day, check your Spam folder; a few people have had it end up there for whatever reason. If you don’t find it there, please email me at [email protected]!)
Monthly and yearly subscription options (With all of these, you will receive the whole first edition immediately and will begin receiving the third edition in monthly installments)
To pay by check, please email me at [email protected] for my mailing address. To take advantage of the sliding scale price for the first edition, you can use this link to send a payment of any amount ($5 or more), entering “leafminer book” in the “Add a note” field, along with the email address where you’d like to receive the link. 

The main reason I’ve decided not to pursue putting this book in print just yet is that I want it to be a complete guide, and after twelve years I’m still finding new things to add on an almost daily basis. I have numerous manuscripts in progress describing new species or documenting new natural history information for various groups of leaf-mining beetles, flies, and moths, as well as their parasitoids.

I am also working on a similarly hostplant-based guide to North American sawfly larvae (both internal and external feeders).

Leaf mines of Coptodisca splendoriferella (Heliozelidae) in a leaf of black cherry (Prunus serotina).

Mines of Coptodisca splendoriferella (Heliozelidae) in a leaf of black cherry (Prunus serotina).

* I am conducting this research independently, and my expenses are considerable: travel; photography equipment; collecting vials; pins, vials, and other materials for preserving insects; postage for sending specimens to specialists around the world; page charges for publishing my discoveries in scientific journals; and so on. If you are aware of a foundation that gives grants to fund projects of this sort (to unaffiliated researchers without PhDs), please let me know, and if you would like to make a donation of your own without purchasing the book, you can do so by clicking the “Add to Cart” button below and then entering in the “Quantity” field the dollar amount you’d like to contribute.




If you are interested in supporting this ongoing project in non-monetary ways, there are a few other ways you can help. Working as a field botanist, I have a good grip on plant identification in New England, but I need help figuring out some of the leafminer host plants I’ve found elsewhere in the US. I have uploaded photos of these on my Flickr page here, organized by location, and I would appreciate any comments. As of February 2019 I am posting mystery plants on iNaturalist instead.

I am also interested in seeing photos of leaf mines. Please submit images of unidentified mines to this iNaturalist project (there is no need to tag me) or this page on BugGuide.net. Reviewing these helps me refine the keys, and often alerts me to the existence of leaf mines that are unknown to science. Ideally, photos should show both sides of the leaf, and backlit shots can be very helpful.

For an introduction to the world of leafminers, see chapter 10 of my first book, or you can see all of my blog posts about leafminers here. There are also several great websites dedicated to European leafminers:

Leafminers and plant galls of Europe
British Leafminers
The leaf and stem mines of British flies and other insects
Belgian leafminers (in Dutch)