Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner

If you have a Horse Chestnut tree growing near to where you live, check it out to see if the Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner (Cameraria ohridella) has reached your area yet. This rapidly colonising micro-moth can cause significant leaf damage, but is unlikely to kill a tree (see http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/forestresearch.nsf/ByUnique/INFD-6YUB8B).

Here are some images taken yesterday at Murton Green showing early and late stage mines and another type of similar-looking leaf browning.

early stage mine

late stage mine

leaf damage mimicing mine (note darker edges and lack of crescentic marks of real mines where larva has been feeding)

Please report if you do find signs to help monitor the spread of this atractive little moth. You can chek out what it looks like and the distinctive feeding signs (note that some fungal growths can look similar) at http://www.ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=2900. The map below, shows the recorded distribution in Glamorgan to date: