Leaf mines of Cameraria ohridella on horse chestnut, Wimbledon,
London, July 2003 The Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner was first
observed in Macedonia in northern Greece in the late 1970's, and
was described as a new species of the genus Cameraria in 1986.
In 1989, it appeared unexpectedly in Austria and has since
spread throughout central and eastern Europe. Its current
distribution includes Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark,
southern Sweden, all of Germany, Poland and the central European
countries, and it is currently spreading west through France and
south through Italy. Since 2002 it has been reported from Spain,
Albania, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and western Russia.
Cameraria ohridella was first found established in the UK in the
London Borough of Wimbledon in July 2002. Leaf mines with larvae
were present in high densities on horse-chestnut trees (Aesculus
hippocastanum) along the southern edge of Wimbledon Common, and
in nearby streets and gardens, which suggested that the first
moths had arrived in