I have seen the damage to Horse Chestnut leaves, caused by the leaf miner, in other parts of the country. The trees look drab as all the leaves turn papery yellow as they are eaten from the inside by the grub.
I can't say I have noticed any problems locally (have you?) until the other day when I noticed a Horse Chestnut in Todmorden with similar blotchy leaf symptoms.
The leaf miner doesn't kill the tree but can severly weaken it and make it more susceptible to the effects of Bleeding Canker, which is killing thousands of HC's in England.
We have lost many Horse Chestnut trees in Tod from this bleeding canker and it could soon become quite a rare species.
Philip,the Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner is now abundant in parts of Calderdale and probably also widespread.You only have to look at the handful of trees either side of Skircoat Road (above the Shay football ground).Three years ago there were no signs of mining activity but this year practically all the leaves are affected with dozens of mines on some leaves - wait until the even more numerous autumn generation start!
ReplyDeleteGood news for the moth!