Leaf miners are larvae — usually from small flies or moths — that burrow between the upper and lower surfaces of your leaves, carving out distinctive squiggly white trails or blotch-shaped mines as they feed on internal tissue. Adults lay tiny eggs on leaf surfaces, and once larvae hatch they tunnel inward where sprays can't reach them. The damage itself is mostly cosmetic unless infestations are severe — trails are permanent but don't spread from existing mines. The real risk is secondary infection — entry and exit wounds let in fungal or bacterial pathogens, so keeping things clean matters more than the tunnels themselves.
