A survey of beet leaf miner

We would like to record the occurrence of beet leaf miner in chard crops in gardens around the UK to build up a better picture of when and where the pest is active.

Enter your results here and download a copy of the protocol here.

Beet leaf miner (Pegomya hyoscyami) is a small fly that lays its eggs on chard, beetroot or sugar beet. You are most likely to notice the pale blotches and winding trails on the leaves as the small maggot tunnels around. Until recently, it was just an occasional pest, causing minor blemishes on a few leaves but over the last couple of years, pest numbers have risen leading to extensive leaf spoilage. It is thought that mild winters may have contributed to this.

Although we have some understanding of the life cycle of this pest, little work has been done to record when and where it is active in UK gardens.

We would like you to record the severity of damage once a month so that we can build up a map of when and where this pest is active. This will improve our understanding so that we are able to provide better advice to growers.