In recent years this insect has become of extreme importance in greenhouses and home gardens and on commercial acreage not properly protected.
Hosts of the vegetable leaf miner are tomato, beans, southern peas, and various cucurbits.
The blister-like blotches that appear on the leaves are where the small maggots have eaten out the tissue between the upper and lower surfaces. Damage may cover so much of the leaf that the plant is unable to function and yields are noticeably decreased. Leaf miner damage to tomato is often confused with leaf diseases by the layman.
This insect largely passes the winter in greenhouses or is brought in on plants from southern climes, but it may overwinter outdoors in parts of South Carolina. The four stages of its development are: egg, larva (leaf miner), pupa, and adult (a small fly).
