Tuesday 18 August 2009

Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner

Why are our Horse Chestnut leaves looking so brown, it's not Autumn yet is it? A lot of you have been asking this question and here is the answer.
The damage to the leaves is by the larvae of the Horse Chesnut Leaf Miner Moth, Cameraria ohridella, which like to burrow within the leaves and has been rapidly spreading across the south of the country since it was first seen in the UK in 2002. Severely damaged leaves shrivel and turn brown by late summer and fall early, well before normal leaf fall in autumn.
Despite their poor appearance, there is no evidence that the damage by the moth leads to the decline of the tree, but once infested, the tree will be attacked year after year.

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