1845 Trans. N.-Y. State Agric. Soc. 1844 4 289 If the silk grower can have plenty of genuine Canton [sc. mulberry] for leaf feeding,..he may, with proper attention, expect a good return of cocoons.

1897 L. O. Howard Insects affecting Cotton Plant 28 Attracting them [sc. grasshoppers] to a mash made of sweetened bran and arsenic will prevent leaf feeding to a great extent.

1928 Florida Entomologist 12 33 The weevils, after sufficient leaf-feeding, would lay eggs in the squares as soon as they became available.

1977 P. Waser in Primate Ecol. vii. 194 Leaf feeding was confined to a small number of species, and mangabeys fed on leaf buds and young leaves of all sizes.

2006 Frederick (Maryland) News-Post 15 May b8 Leaf feeding is the first sign cutworms are present.

1949 Daily Jrnl.-Gaz. (Mattoon, Illinois) 3 June 12 Controlled leaf feeding of nitrogen.

1975 Times 14 June (advt.) Phostrogen. For superb roses...Ideal for root and leaf feeding.

2001 Plant & Soil 229 200/2 It seems likely that urea leaf-feeding will also work with other plants including grasses, legumes and woody plants.

1838 J. C. Loudon Arboretum III. cv. 1821 Amongst the Leaf-feeding Species, the majority are external feeders, neither concealing themselves in cases, nor rolling themselves up in leaves.

1897 Ann. Rep. Nebraska State Hort. Soc. 63 Just as soon as a tree was observed to sicken from defoliation by leaf-feeding insects, it was attacked by borers and killed.

1975 Controlling Dis. Raspberries & Blackberries (U.S. Dept. Agric. Farmers' Bull. No. 2208) 2/1 Certain leaf-feeding aphids spread mosaic rapidly.

1991 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 333 86/1 He found that leaf-feeding beetles and bugs had thinner cuticles than carnivorous ones.

2008 G. Poinar & R. Poinar What bugged Dinosaurs? iv. 50 Some insects, such as stem-inhabiting beetles and leaf-feeding caterpillars, still utilize these primitive plants.