oak tatters

The holey handiwork of the Oak Shothole Leafminer is appearing on its namesake hosts in southwest Ohio. The fly is also capable of damaging Chinese chestnuts. Populations appear to be higher this year than during the "outbreak" in 2019-2020.

Holes and blotch-type leafmines produced by the oak shothole leafminer coupled with necrotic tissue caused by oak anthracnose are combining to make some oaks in southwest Ohio look pretty scuzzy. The bad news is nothing can be done now to reverse the damage. The good news is that neither of these occasional springtime afflictions has a history of causing significant harm to the overall health of their oak hosts.