Verdia · Library
Leaf-chewing and leaf-mining pests
Record holes, mines, trails and eggs, and see why Verdia's chewing-pest group of 46 genera covers caterpillars, beetles, leaf miners and also slugs and snails.
A wide group in the app
Verdia's chewing and mining group is its largest: 46 genera and 11 fallback keywords. It brings together caterpillars such as Spodoptera, Helicoverpa and Tuta, leaf miners such as Liriomyza and Cameraria, beetles such as Leptinotarsa, Popillia and Otiorhynchus, sawflies such as Nematus, and slugs and snails such as Arion, Deroceras and Helix. Keywords like noctuidae, chrysomelidae, curculionidae and gastropoda catch names whose genus is not on the list.
Because these organisms differ so much, a match tells you only which three general app steps apply, not what is eating the plant.
What to write down
- Photograph holes, tunnels inside the leaf, slime trails or egg clusters, with the whole leaf in view.
- Note when activity is visible; many chewing pests feed in the evening.
- Observe from a distance rather than handling an unfamiliar organism.
- Record which leaves are affected and whether the damage increases over the next days.
Two names, one group
A top result of Deroceras reticulatum at 51 percent and one of Liriomyza trifolii at 38 percent both land here, through the genera deroceras and liriomyza. In each case the app shows the same three steps. This page repeats only one: checking the plant in the evening, when many of these animals come out to feed. The other two involve removing animals or leaves by hand and are held back.
- Slug example
- Deroceras reticulatum · 51%
- Leaf-miner example
- Liriomyza trifolii · 38%
- Chewing-pest steps shown here
- 1 of 3
The group also contains Thaumetopoea. Some processionary moth caterpillars and nests have irritating hairs and must not be approached; follow local reporting guidance.
Common slips
- Assuming a slug and a caterpillar need the same response because the app groups them.
- Touching a nest or hairy caterpillar to get a better photo.
- Recording holes without noting the time of day the damage was found.
- Treating fresh holes and old, healed damage as one observation.
Scope
The group label does not identify the animal or decide whether action is needed. The RHS oak processionary moth page and the University of Minnesota Extension guide listed below describe specific pests, and the ASPCA list covers pet safety, which a group label cannot.