Thursday 22 September 2016

What's About: Horse-chestnut Leaf Miner

Horse-chestnut Leaf Miner

You may have already noticed the leaves on the Horse-chestnut trees going brown and crispy. It's not Autumn, it's more likely to be the Horse-chestnut Leaf Miner, the larvae of a small moth which spread to Britain in 2002, although it had possibly arrived the previous year, as it was quite plentiful. It is thought that the species may be expanding partially due to accidental transportation by human activity and it has now been found quite extensively across much of England. There can be many mines on a leaf and this moth can cause serious defoliation.


Horse-chestnut Leaf Miner, Cameraria ohridella. Nikon D7200 f8 50mm 1/80 ISO 3200