Aspen Leaf Miners
The shore of our campsite at Indian Lake was populated by Quaking Aspen trees. Several exhibited silvery leaves which on closer examination were covered in distinctive sinous markings.
These markings are created as the leaf is devoured from the inside by larval feeding by an insect called the Aspen Leaf Miner (Phyllocnistis populiella).
The adult moth lays a single egg on the edge of new aspen leaves. When the larva hatches, it bores into the leaf and feeds its mesophyll layer. The larva forms a serpentine mine as it feeds over a 2 week period.
