Kiowa Conservation District

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Blotchminer Beetle

Blotchminer damage

About Blotchminer Beetle

Lives on cottonwood and other poplars.  Young larvae are white or cream-colored and very flat, while older larvae are more cylindrical and 4 to 5 mm long.  Moths have a wingspread of 6 to 17 mm and have elongated yellowish forewings with white cross bars and diagonal markings.  Larvae appear in spring and pupate within  the mines during July and August; adults emerge during August.

During early summer, larvae of blotchminers feed and construct irregularly shaped mines between upper and lower surfaces of leaves.  By mid-summer these mines appear as blotches on leaves.  Infested trees usually shed damaged leaves prematurely.

To Control

Spray leaves with chlorpyrifos or oxydemeton-methyl at first sign of mining.