Groundnut leaf miner

Aproaerema modicella Aproaerema modicella (Deventer, 1904) · formerly or also: Stomopteryx subsecivella, Biloba subsecivella

groundnut leafminer · English, South Asia
पत्ती सुरंगक (patti surangak) · Hindi, India
soybean leaf miner · English, Southern Africa

The groundnut leaf miner is a tiny moth whose caterpillars first mine inside groundnut and soybean leaflets and then web leaflets together and eat them from inside the fold. Heavily attacked fields look scorched from a distance. It is a major pest of rainfed groundnut in South and South-East Asia, especially in dry spells, and has spread in Africa since the late 1990s, where related populations attack groundnut and soybean.

Type: Insect · Insect (small moth; the caterpillars mine and fold leaves)
Classification: Animalia › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Gelechiidae
Main crops: Groundnut, Soybean, Alfalfa, Pigeon pea
Found in: South Asia, South-East and East Asia, Africa, Oceania
Chemical groups: IRAC 28, IRAC 5, IRAC 6 (mode-of-action groups, not products)
Last reviewed: 2026-10-20

Groundnut leaf miner scientific name, order and family

The scientific name of groundnut leaf miner is Aproaerema modicella Aproaerema modicella (Deventer, 1904), in the order Lepidoptera, family Gelechiidae.

Older or alternative scientific names: Stomopteryx subsecivella, Biloba subsecivella.

Where it occurs

Widespread in South and South-East Asia and found in parts of East Asia and Australia. In Africa, leaf miners on groundnut and soybean were reported from Uganda in the late 1990s and later in southern Africa; molecular studies suggest that some African populations may belong to a related species.

Region	Status
South Asia	Widespread; major pest of rainfed groundnut
South-East and East Asia	Present
Africa	Present in East and southern Africa since the late 1990s
Oceania	Related species present in Australia

Symptoms and identification of groundnut leaf miner

The organism

Adults are tiny grey-brown moths about 6 mm long, with a small white spot on the front edge of each forewing. Caterpillars are pale green to brownish with a dark head and a dark plate behind it, growing to about 6 mm. Eggs are laid singly on the undersides of leaflets. Unlike fly leaf miners, the caterpillars leave their mines and continue feeding in folded leaflets.

Signs in the crop, stage by stage

Crop stage	What you see
Young caterpillars	Small whitish blotch mines on the upper side of leaflets.
Older caterpillars	Leaflets folded or webbed together with silk; caterpillars feed inside, leaving the leaf tissue brown and papery; droppings inside folds.
Heavy infestation	Whole fields turn brown and look burnt; leaves dry and drop, reducing pod filling.

Life cycle of groundnut leaf miner

Life cycle of Groundnut leaf miner — diagram drawn by Laisha from the stages below. Durations depend on temperature.

Females lay eggs on leaflets. The caterpillar mines inside a leaflet for its first stages, then leaves the mine and webs leaflets together, feeding within them. It pupates in a silk cocoon inside the folded leaflets. Several generations develop during one groundnut season.

Stage	Duration	Notes
Egg	About 3-4 days	On leaf undersides.
Caterpillar (mining then webbing)	About 10-14 days	Damaging stage.
Pupa (in folded leaflets)	About 4-6 days	In silk cocoon.
Adult moth	About 1-2 weeks	Night-active; attracted to light.

Temperature

One generation takes about three to four weeks in warm weather; outbreaks are common during dry spells in the rainy season.

Generations

Several generations per year where groundnut and soybean are grown in more than one season.

Conditions that favour it

Dry spells and drought stress in rainfed groundnut, continuous groundnut or soybean cropping, staggered sowing and loss of natural enemies after broad-spectrum sprays.

Economic threshold level (ETL)

There is no single international threshold. Indian programmes use action levels based on larvae per plant or the share of damaged leaflets at given crop stages, which differ between states; check with your local extension service.

Thresholds are local. They depend on crop price, control cost, variety and natural-enemy activity, so use the figure your local extension service publishes where one exists.

Damage and yield loss from groundnut leaf miner

Heavy defoliation during pod formation can cause substantial pod-yield losses, especially in dry seasons in rainfed groundnut. Damage is greater in crops already stressed by drought.

Monitoring

Inspect leaflets for mines and webbed folds on a set number of plants each week, especially during dry spells.
Use pheromone or light traps to follow moth flights where available.
Look for parasitised caterpillars and pupae before deciding to spray.
Note field patches that turn brown first, often near field edges, and check leaflets there for caterpillars and folds.

How to control groundnut leaf miner (integrated management)

Control works best as a sequence: prevent, monitor, then act only when a threshold or a risk forecast says so, using the least disruptive option that works.

Cultural control

Sow early and at the same time across an area; avoid continuous groundnut and soybean.
Irrigate during dry spells where possible, since well-watered crops suffer less.
Plough after harvest to destroy pupae in crop residues and remove volunteer plants.
Intercropping and border rows have been tested, with variable results.

Mechanical and physical control

Light traps and pheromone traps catch moths and help time control.

Biological control

Many parasitic wasps attack the caterpillars and pupae and often keep populations in check when broad-spectrum sprays are avoided.

Host resistance

Groundnut genotypes differ in susceptibility; some tolerant lines have been identified, but resistance is partial.

Chemical control of groundnut leaf miner — by mode-of-action group only

Laisha names chemical options only by their resistance-committee mode-of-action group (IRAC for insects, mites and nematodes, FRAC for fungi, oomycetes and bacteria, HRAC for weeds), never by active ingredient or product. What is registered differs by country and changes over time; the label and your local plant-protection authority decide what may be used, on which crop, at what rate and with what pre-harvest interval.

Sprays are most effective against young caterpillars before they web leaflets together. What is registered differs by country and changes over time; follow the label and your local plant-protection authority.

Scheme	Group	Mode of action	Notes
IRAC	28	Ryanodine receptor modulators (diamides)	Rotate.
IRAC	5	Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor allosteric modulators, site I (spinosyns)	Selective.
IRAC	6	Glutamate-gated chloride channel allosteric modulators	Rotate.

Resistance management

Rotate groups between generations and spray only above local thresholds to protect parasitoids.

Look-alikes and how to tell them apart

Serpentine leafminer — Long winding mines made by fly maggots, without webbed leaflets.
Tobacco cutworm on groundnut — Larger caterpillars eating whole leaves, without mines or folds.
Groundnut leaf spots — Round brown to black spots without mines or caterpillars.

Host range

Groundnut and soybean are the main hosts; alfalfa, pigeon pea and some other legumes are also recorded.

What is still uncertain

The identity of African populations (A. modicella or the related A. simplexella) is still being studied.
Yield-loss estimates vary widely between seasons.
Measured yield losses are available from relatively few field studies.

Grow guides for its host crops

How to grow the crop well is the first line of defence. Laisha's free grow guides cover each crop from sowing to harvest:

How to grow Groundnut How to grow Soybean How to grow Alfalfa How to grow Pigeon pea

Not sure this is what you are seeing?Ask Laisha: describe the symptoms or send a photo, and get a reasoned first read with what to check next — for your crop, your stage and your region.Ask Laisha

Sources

Aproaerema modicella (groundnut leaf miner) datasheet — CABI Compendium. https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.6548
Biology and control of the groundnut leafminer, Aproaerema modicella — Crop Protection (Elsevier). https://doi.org/10.1016/0261-2194(93)90014-a
Seasonal monitoring of the flight activity and the incidence of the groundnut leaf miner Aproaerema modicella at five sites in South Africa — Austral Entomology (Wiley). https://doi.org/10.1111/aen.12249
Molecular and behavioural evidence suggesting a re-examination of the taxonomy of Aproaerema simplexella — African Entomology. https://doi.org/10.4001/003.024.0016

Written by Laisha from the sources above, in its own words. This page is general reference, not a prescription: confirm identification locally and follow the label and your plant-protection authority.