Pest on my Ilex?

[mat]

I noticed today that two of my Ilex weren't looking so good. They've lost a lot of leaves, and many of the remaining ones have brown "tracks" all over them. It seems like a pest ? but I can't find any actual critters.

I've attached a picture of a few of the leaves that I pulled off.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[jk_lewis]

You have a critter that works at night. Snails, slugs, caterpillars or beetles. Do you find any dried trails of slime on the leaves or on your pots? If not, it will be caterpillars or beetles, probably beetles, as most caterpillars do their work in daytimes and you'd see them. A pyrethrin spray in the LATE evening may help.

Or, it could be leaf miners, in which case a systemic will be necessary.

 

[Barry]

It looks more like leaf miners to me. Slugs and snail will leave a slime trail near or on the leaves and usually there will be some holes in the leaves.

 

[mat]

Thanks guys. I don't see any slime trails or holes in the leaves, and the pictures google shows me for "leaf miner" look pretty similar. So, I'm thinking that's it.

Time to start researching systemic insecticide...