Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner
Pest or disease?
Pest
Latin name:
Cameraria ohridella
Host trees:
Horse chestnut and some maple trees
Present in the UK?
Yes
Tree Alert required?
Yes for findings in Scotland only
Horse chestnut leaf miner is now a common sight in England and Wales.
Thought to be native to south-eastern Europe, it was first found in the UK in 2002. It feeds on horse chestnut trees and shrubs belonging to the Aesculus genus. It's believed that it does not pose a serious threat and the largest impact is on the aesthetic of the tree.
Horse chestnut leaf miner is a species of moth, whose larval stage live and feed in the leaves. This begins in small white or brown blotches appearing between the leaf veins, later in the season this can cause the whole leaf to turn brown. This pest can cause a horse chestnut tree to turn an autumnal orangery brown in summer. For more information on this pest please see the resources below.
