Extension > Garden > Diagnose a problem > What's wrong with my plant? > Annuals and Perennials > Aster > Holes in leaves
Aster > Holes in leaves
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Checkerspot butterfly caterpillar
- Occurs May and June
- Chews holes in leaves of perennials
- Grows over 1 inch long, black with spines
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Deer, rabbit and other animal damage
- All of large sections of leaves are cut off and missing, leaving only a stem or petiole (leaf stalk)
- Animal foot prints or dropping near plant
- Often happens suddenly, overnight
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Japanese beetles
- Occur late June to early September
- Skeletonize leaves, i.e. chews tissue between veins, leaving foliage lace-like
- Feed on blossoms, chewing holes in them
- Up to almost 1/2 inch long; iridescent green with five white patches along the side of its body and two white patches on the tip of the abdomen
- More information on Japanese beetles
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Hail
- Ragged holes in foliage
- Appears suddenly, after sever weather
- Affects very local area only, sometimes individual plants show damage
- Plants outgrow damage, leaves produced after hail event are undamaged
