Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner
The Horse Chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum at the bottom of my garden is under attack. The culprit Cameraria ohridella, first observed in Macedonia in the late 1970's. It was first noted in the UK in 2002 in Wimbledon, and has since spread to much of the south east.
The "miners" are the larvae of the Cameraria ohridella moth, which disfigure the leaves causing them to turn brown and drop early. Control of this pest involves burning the fallen leaves to kill the pupa which overwinter in them.
All the other Horse chestnuts in my local area seem to be affected by this moth.....has it spread to yours?
Dickie
posted by dickie @ 7:24 am
3 Comments:
At 11:23 am,
suze said…
Haven't seen it in this area yet Rich although I have not looked that closely, will have a closer look and let you know!
All the best Sue
At 2:20 pm,
rg301 said…
I have seen it around a lot down here, nice to know what it is.
Shame, because it ruins the tree, which i am particulary fond of.
(Does it effect the life span of the tree?)
At 8:52 am,
dickie said…
I've been in correspondence with Christine Tilbury at www.forestry.gov.uk, who are monitoring the situation.
Current research suggests that the bug does not reduce the life span of the tree and it is hoped that in time, natural predators will control the moth.
Personally, I'd not specify them in any schemes at present, simply because of the devastating effect it has on the look of the tree!
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