Perfect Experimental Design 2

After obtaining one of the infected leaves, we will use the dichotomous key, found in Leaf Miners of North America (Eiseman 2019), to separate the data on mines made by different leaf miners. We will then measure the path of the leaf mine from the insertion point to the first vein crossing. Through our observations, we noticed some leaf miners show avoidant behavior (Figure.1), and travel to the edge of the leaf seemingly to avoid the veins. Even though this behavior does go through ends of the veins, we are defining the first crossing as the first time the mine crosses in the inner 80% of the vein. We intend to measure the first crossing, categorize the crossed vein as asymmetrical or symmetrical, and measure to the next crossing of opposite type. We will measure the total length of the mine, and measure the distance from the insertion point to the closest symmetrical vein in order to determine if the symmetrical region is accessible. We also plan on measuring the width of the mine at each crossing in order to determine if crossing is a function of size or the structure of the leaf.