Our country is very rich with different medicinal plants, especially in mountainous regions. Medicinal plants are of great and multiple importance. In fact, it was proved that large number of plants have high medicinal effect. Thanks to the development of science, apparatus, and research and industry equipment, the effect and importance of the species of medicinal plants from the traditional popular medicine and in plant material, new active substances having therapeutic effect have been discovered in the plant material. Due to this, the application of medicinal and aromatic plants for human therapy has increased considerably. Contemporary knowledge about usability of some medicinal and aromatic plants has contributed to the development of many fields of light industry (pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, chemical...).

Cultivated and wild medicinal plants are attacked and damaged by different pests. Among them, the insects belonging to the group of leaf miners have an important place. The same as other pests, they slow down and stop the growth and development of the attacked plants, and often cause their decay. In that way, the quality and quantity of the yield is reduced (change of composition, loss of therapeutical properties, pollution). However, protection of medicinal plant against pests, especially leaf miners, is specific and very delicate. There is big danger from additional pollution caused by residual effect of insecticides and a negative therapeutical effect of these plants. Detailed knowledge about harmful species and their development is the basis for additional successful protection of medicinal as well as all other plants. In fact, our several-year research is only a trial or the beginning of the solving the problem of medicinal plant protection, without subsequent harmful effect for the users.

According to the data available from the scientific and skillful literature, it is completely clear that the problems of the occurrence of the leaf miners of medicinal plants, researched in this study, have not been investigated in our region so far.

Because of the many reasons, leaf miners have to be researched in the biggest possible number of the localities of one region, and analyzing the large number of samples. Practically, all plants and leaves of one locality have to be examined. So far, the material from different localities from the regions of Vranje, Čačak, Zrenjanin, Bela Crkva, Subotica, Sremska Mitrovica, Vrnjačka Banja, Banja Koviljača, Studenica, Grocka, Obrenovac, Smederevska Palanka, Novi Sad, Čortanovci, Vršac and Belgrade, as well as Budva and Ulcinj has been collected and scientifically researched. 1124 localities from the region of Belgrade have been included in this study. Those certainly are not localities where medicinal plants are collected in order to be used, but they spontaneously grow there and the insects from the group of leaf miners attack them.

Collecting and researching leaf miners of medicinal plants were carried out depending on the species and number of plant species, expressed interest for some plant species or leaf miners, as well as on the availability of the localities, and it was performed one or several times (up to 20, and most often three times). Most of leaf miners could be collected in autumn, when it is easiest. However, the other aspects of the vegetation must not be neglected, because all species do not appear in the same period. Some species of leaf miners (especially univoltine) occur only in the certain period (early spring, spring, summer, autumn), and in very short time interval, needed for the growth. Before and after that time they cannot be registered. Due to this, during the year, larger number of the inspections in the same locality and the same plants is indispensable.

During the inspection, material collecting, and sample analysis, all those species cited by Tucakov (1960), Grlić (1986), Jančić (1996), Kojić et al. (1999), etc. were included into the group of medicinal plants. So far, 194 plants belonging to 54 families and 125 genera have been studied. Simultaneously with collecting the material and registering, the intensity of the occurrence was evaluated, i.e. the number of each species was proved separately (by the scale from 1-5). In the species with extremely numerous population densities, population dynamics, and course of the development under the ecological conditions of Belgrade were investigated (Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimić, Parectopa robiniella Clem., Calotilia fidella Rtti., Stigmella aceris Frey, Parna tenella Klug., etc.). This is of big importance for the detection of the method and moment for appropriate time of intervention. These studies were disturbed by different external factors, especially by treatments against mosquitoes.

Determination of miners was carried out according to the Tables for leaf miner determination by Hering (1957) for the species from family Coleophoridae) and key for Diptera from Spencer (1972). Synonimia was checked on actual, valid lists: A checklist of British insects (Kloet, 1972) and List Systematique et synonymique des Lepidopteres de France, Belgique et Corse (Leraut, 1980).

In addition to leaf miners, their natural enemies were also collected and cultivated.

During the work on medicinal plant research, 228 species of leaf miners from four orders, 22 families, and 62 genera have been proved. The highest number of the proved species (two-thirds) belongs to the order of Lepidoptera, (152 species or 66.67%). One third of the detected leaf miner species (33.33%) belongs to the remaining three orders: most of all Diptera (53 species or 23.24%), Coleoptera (13 species or 5.70%) and then Hymenoptera (10 species or 4.39%).

The highest number of literature references (Bebić, 1955; Čuturilo, 1952; Dimić, 1976; Dimić et al., 1999; Grujičić and Tomašević, 1956; Hadžistević, 1955; Igrc and Maceljski, 1983; Injac and Grgurević, 1982; Jeremić, 1954, 1963; Maceljski and Igrc, 1984; Martinović and Bjegović, 1950; Mihajlović et al., 1993; Novaković, 1963; Petrik, 1950; Ristić and Mihajlović, 1994; Tomić et al., 1992; Živojinović, 1963) was consulted in order to find out the previous knowledge about the existence and occurrence of the certain species in the region of the investigation, i.e. the Republic of Serbia.

Leaf miners are small insects without our domestic common name. Due to this only scientific, Latin names of the species are used.

Moths (152), are represented by the species from 14 families and 29 genera. The family Agromyzidae has the highest number of species (45 species or 84.91%). The remaining eight species (15.09%), belong to the other three families, most to the family Muscidae (5 species or 9.43%).

So far, 13 species of Coleoptera miners, from three families and eight genera have been registered. All representatives of Hymenoptera (10 species), belong to one familiy and to nine genera.

Among 194 plant species investigated, leaf miners were proved on 167 (86.08%) of plants, from 41 families and 103 genera. The most frequent plants belong to the family Rosaceae (25 species or 14.97%), Asteraceae (22 species or 13.17%), Fabaceae (12 species or 7.18%), Lamiaceae (11 species or 6.59%) and Solanaceae (9 plants or 5.39%). Leaf miners were not proved on 27 medicinal plant species (13.92%), form 13 families and 22 genera.

According to the so far obtained results, the highest numbers of leaf miners inhabits the plants form the following genera: Quercus (18), Malus (17), Populus (16), Crataegus (15), Prunus (14), Ulmus (11), Lamium (10), Pyrus (10), Sorbus (10), etc. On the remaining plant genera between one and nine miner species can be registered (for example: Acer, Aesculus, Quercus, etc.). Leaf miners are very rarely polifagous. Some miner species are specific and they are characteristic only for certain plants (species and genera), i.e. the miners are previously monofagous and oligofagous. So they are extremely reliable determinators of plants.

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3. Dimić N. (1976): Pregled dosadašnjeg rada i vlastiti rezultati istraživanja entomofaune minera lista na području SR Srbije. Arhiv bioloških nauka, Beograd.

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16. Leraut P. (1980): Liste systématique et synonymique des Lépidopteres de France, Belgique et Corse. Bulletin de la Société entomologique de Franse, Paris.

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