My columbines are constantly in that state of nakedness. I never see what is chewing on them, and they always seem to return. I am going to try to drop as many seeds as possible to encourage thick new sprouts. I never use any pesticides, so It doesn't make any difference what is doing it, anyway. It is frustrating, though. I have noticed that the plants in more sun are not as heavily chewed on. So, I may plant more in a sunnier spot.

Martha

One thought - - When I had a lot of foliar damage and couldn't see a culprit, going out at night, I discovered earwigs were eating the foliage on a number of plants. Their favorite being basil and echinacea. I had columbine at the time but I don't remember them eating that. I also saw more asiatic beetles at night too.

If it's not leaf miners, it's columbine sawfly...usually the foliage looks horrible this time of year but we've had nothing but rain for the past few weeks so I think that's holding them at bay.