Can't see any bugs, But I see they were here

[laylow6988]

(Click on the image to see it larger)

On many of my outdoor plants I am finding transparent brown spots consitrated at the base of the leaves and about 1mm across. I have done some research and the closest match is a leaf miner. But this is not a burrowing insect, as you see in the picture it is spotted. Not like the trail of every picture I have sen in real life. Anybody familiar with this type of leaf damage?

Furthermore I sprayed them with a small dose of insecticide, and will keep my eye out for more damage.

Thanks guys,

Laylow

 

[HippyInEngland]

Would you say the top or the bottom of the leaf is effected more?

eace:

 

[laylow6988]

Would you say the top or the bottom of the leaf is effected more?

eace:

Well looking at it very closely I can see that it most likely happend from the top. The edges of the spots are more browned at the top along with some distortion of the leaf shape. I also found insect fecal on the leaves, which all make me think that maybe it's a insect. But I can't be sure as of now. It could be a type of leafminer like I said before, it's just not typical to have spots apart from another. And it's only on healthy leaves, none of the weaker smaller leaves from earlier(in house with lights) growth.

 

[laylow6988]

Hmmm... looks like this is a rare case huh? Time for more research.

 

[HippyInEngland]

Keep an eye on these marks, it looks like something has probed or bitten into the leaf from underneath, if these marks grow into the same damage, you have an insect battle on your hands.

eace:

 

[IRISH]

what type of insecticide did you spray on them?

i've seen this on my outdoors quite a few times. usually it is leafminers, white flies, or aphids doing the damage. i battle them with a dose of powdered seven dust, at the 5% rate. i dust whole plant at first sign, let stand two days', them mist it off into the soil below the plant.

i just did this. i timed it with a rain last eve. i have a pic of the dusted plants in my sig, in my gardening section. good luck. Irish.

 

[laylow6988]

Thanks guys, I used a 3in1 Fugicide, mitacide, and insecticide. I have not noticed any new damage. I removed those leaves with the damage. I have worse things, like deer and rabbits. Had 6 planted in ground outside and all got eaten, mostly clipped at the stem. Let's just say I dotated a .22 chunk of lead to the next rabbit I seen when the last plant went down. Now I am going to do an outdoors grow with pots. I'm starting to appreciate indoor growing more.

 

[laylow6988]

I have not noticed any new damage to leaves like this since spraying that 3 in 1 solution. But, I cannot say that stopped them. I know a fellow greenthumb that has the same damage, he didn't spray and they stopped. He said the bugs that were doing it were black and yellow, looking closely to that of a lightning bug(firefly for you hillbillies ). He said they started at one end of his 5 acre field, and swept across from west to southeast. About 70% area had damage on certain plants.


So I can only see prevention at the right time of year stopping these bugs. What the prevention is, I don't know.