Selective oviposition by a leaf miner in response to temporal variation in abscission

We studied within-tree variaton in density and mortality of the leaf miner, Cameraria sp. nov., on Emory oak. Miner densities were lower in the peripheral than the central parts of trees. Following tagged mined and unmined leaves revealed that peripheral leaves fall sooner than central leaves and that more Cameraria mining peripheral leaves die due to abscission than those mining central leaves. We discuss factors that might influence interactions between leaf miners and abscission of the host-leaves they attack.