Allium Leaf Miner

[baggyman]

Our allotment has been affected by this problem and we have to cover our onions etc, but does anyone know if it is safe to uncover them now or should I wait another few weeks?

[Hole Digger]

Our allotment has been affected by this problem and we have to cover our onions etc, but does anyone know if it is safe to uncover them now or should I wait another few weeks?

Hi baggyman,Ime near stafford and we were wiped out of onions shallots and garlic last year,covered everything this year with enviromesh and seems to have done the trick, took the mesh off over wintering onions 2 weeks ago and they seem fine, there,s not a lot of information about this pest about but last year it seemed to cross the middle of england like a plague boing boing

[baggyman]

we've had it a couple of years now but it seems that only the midlands has it so far.
I wander if it will stay around or die out, it seems apart from covering in spring and autumn there not a lot you can do!

[Two_Sheds]

OMG!
I'd never heard of this before. I always thought I had leek moth, but maybe it's leaf miner instead: "This pest should not be confused with the leek moth Acrolepiopsis assectella, whose larvae also bore into the leaves of Allium plants.
The adult stage is a grey/brown moth 8-9mm long, and therefore cannot be confused
with the adult flies of the Allium leaf miner. The pupal stages of these pests are also quite different to one another. The pupal stage of the leek moth is about 10mm long, and is a cream coloured, silk cocoon; the pupae of the Allium leaf miner are about half this size, and are orange brown in colour (see figure 1).
Whilst the larvae of these pests may be more easily confused with one another than the other life stages, there are significant differences (see figures 1 and 3 for comparison). The larvae of the leek moth have brown head capsules, and legs on the thorax, and pro-legs on the abdominal segments. They are yellowish green in colour, and have setae (hairs) on dark raised spots. These larvae can vary length from 1mm to 10 mm.
The Allium leaf-miner larvae however have no head capsule, no legs, and are white/creamish in colour. http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/pestnote/allium.pdf