hi .. just wondering if anyone else has noticed the leaves of lilacs curling a bit and getting "dark spots" on the edges, or sometimes in the middle of the leaves .. i took a leaf and peeled it back from front (not an easy task) to see if i could see what was making these distortions in the leaves .. turned out there was a teeny worm between the layers .. what a surprise that was .. does anyone know what this little creature is .. my 'solution' is to pick all the marked leaves off and put them in the garbage .. it takes a bit of persistence to get them all, but it seems to work .. the next year, hardly any .. just another curiosity in the garden ..
could be a leaf miner but more likely a caterpillar of sorts trying to get its cocoon built. and perhaps the spotting is a fungal issue. its been pretty wet lately
i'm not sure that it's from the wet .. i have seen the 'spots' on many lilacs over the past few years, in many different yards .. and, spending time taking off the leaves keeps the little creatures from spreading throughout the shrub during the season, and appears to keep them at bay the following year .. for me, this is a curiosity .. i wish i had a camera to give you a visual .. the pattern is not like any leafminer i've seen .. it's almost black spot like, but lighter in colour, and it, the 'spot', seems to curl the leaf in toward itself .. i'm just amazed that there is a little creature between the layers of the leaf .. how does it get in there .. anyway, thanks for your thoughts ..
Here's a pic that might be helpful too. http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/af_lilac_LM.jpg http://gov.pe.ca/af/agweb/index.php3?number=74338 Newt
thank you for the input .. on checking out the suggested website i am sure it's a leaf miner .. now i know .. thanks, again
