Allium leaf miner can be a problem on many common crops: leeks, onion, chives, shallot and garlic. The initial damage is done by the maggots, but secondary fungal and bacterial infections often cause the most noticeable rotting.
Infestations are initiated by the adult fly:
- The greyish brown flies are 3mm long
- Before laying eggs, the female flies feed by making punctures in the leaves and sucking up the exuding sap
- This causes distinctive lines of white dots on the foliage
Next seen is damage from the maggots:
- The larvae are white, headless maggots without legs
- These make tunnels in the foliage, stems and bulbs of their host plants
- Note: Similar damage is caused by caterpillars of the leek moth but that pest has creamy white larvae with brown heads and small legs
But perhaps the most obvious signs of a problem appear when rotting sets in:
- Plants affected by allium leaf miner or leek moth tend to rot due to secondary infections from fungi and bacteria that develop in the damaged tissues
- On closer inspection, cylindrical brown pupae are likely to be found embedded in the stems and bulbs
Non-chemical control
Plants can be protected by covering them with horticultural fleece, or an insect-proof mesh such as Ultra-Fine Enviromesh, at times when the adult flies are active and laying eggs (March to April and October to November). Crop rotation must be used, as adult flies might emerge from pupae underneath the covering if susceptible plants are grown in the same piece of ground in successive years.
Chemical control
None of the pesticides available to home gardeners for use on leeks, onions and allied plants is likely to give control of allium leaf miner.
Allium leaf miner has two generations a year:
- First generation female flies lay eggs on the stems or base of leaves during March to April
- The second generation repeats the process in October to November, this generation is usually the most damaging
The maggots bore into the foliage, stems or bulbs of their host plants and, after a couple of weeks, are fully fed and ready to turn into brown pupae. Pupation takes place mainly within the stems and bulbs during summer and winter but some pupae may end up in the soil, especially where plants have rotted off.
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By
Jay Tee on 13/11/2014
Has anybody yet found an effective chemical control?
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By
Mizz on 28/06/2015
I found this pest last year when it attacked my leeks. So this year we put the leeks in a different bed and covered them with horticultural fleece, only to find this week the leeks have this pest! And so have the onion crops. Very frustrating considering we have took the precautions.
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By
Janet L on 10/11/2015
Found these critters in my leeks this month and abandoned the crop. Thank you for the information as a first time allotmenteer it has been very helpful. Variety grown was Musselburgh and I was hoping to grow organically. The crop germinated well seed sown on the super new moon of March 20th (all crops germinated sown at this time) and was quite prolific but planted out quite late this season and therefore probably attacked in the October cycle of this pest. But I have learned something new and identified the problem.
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By
wonda_y on 02/12/2015
I noticed leek moth damage on my Musselburgh leeks sometime in late August and by end of September I opted to decapitate plants to encourage new growth. It didn't take long for plants to bounce back with new growth. All was fine until mid November I noticed stunted growth and and a few plants flopping over. I dug a few leeks up and discovered brown larvae in base of stems. I decided to remove plants and destroy them. Last season I managed to grow lovely leeks on soil infested with onion white rot. This year I grew on a newly acquired plot where the soil has been fallow for a decade. Did not expect my crop to be decimated by insects. Everyone on our allotment site has suffered. I'll have to think about soil and airborne protection for next season
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By
anonymous on 16/09/2017
the last 3-4 yrs my leeks have been decimated by I believe allium leek moth, what I have done is to cut them right down below the damage, they have regrown very quickly. One year, I even had to cut back twice, and they still regrew. and I was able to have leeks from my allotment.
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By
GRANDADS DIG on 23/10/2017
I discovered these in this years leek crop, lost the lot!! Does anyone know if the pupae live on in the soil . I will beplanting next years in a different spot on the allotment but I found the damage a week after putting in my garlic. Any help suggestions welcomed..
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By
GRANDADS DIG on 23/10/2017
I discovered these in this years leek crop, lost the lot!! Does anyone know if the pupae live on in the soil . I will beplanting next years in a different spot on the allotment but I found the damage a week after putting in my garlic. Any help suggestions welcomed..
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