Horse-Chestnut Leafminer

Horse-Chestnut Leafminer

Cameraria ohridella

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Madrid

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

8 Verified sightings at Madrid
31 In all 4 parks From 2019 to 2026
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Horse-Chestnut Leafminer

The horse-chestnut leaf miner (Cameraria ohridella) is a leaf-mining moth of the family Gracillariidae. The horse-chestnut leaf miner was first observed in North Macedonia in 1984, and was described as a new species in 1986. Its larvae are leaf miners on the common horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum). The horse-chestnut leafminer was first collected and inadvertently pressed in herbarium sheets by the botanist Theodor von Heldreich in central Greece in 1879.

Cameraria ohridella causes significant damage, mainly late summer browning, to the appearance of horse-chestnut trees. Despite the poor appearance of these infested trees, there is no evidence that damage by the moth leads to tree death. Seed weight, photosynthetic storage and reproductive capacity may however be reduced. Trees survive repeated infestations and re-flush normally in the following year. It appears that most of the damage caused by the moth occurs too late in the growing season to greatly affect tree performance. Consequently, there is no reason to fell and remove trees just because they are attacked by C. ohridella.

The larva feeds in a mine in the leaves of the tree, damaging the leaves and stunting... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~10%
2 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
3 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
4 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
2 Kyiv 🇺🇦 Ukraine
~30%
3 Kharkiv 🇺🇦 Ukraine
~20%
4 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
5 Minsk 🇧🇾 Belarus
~20%
6 Sofia 🇧🇬 Bulgaria
~20%
7 Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
8 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
9 Warsaw 🇵🇱 Poland
~10%
10 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Horse-Chestnut Leafminer in Madrid?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Horse-Chestnut Leafminer sighting in Madrid on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 328th most-seen of the 457 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Horse-Chestnut Leafminer in Madrid?

July

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Horse-Chestnut Leafminer in Madrid on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months. That is one of Madrid's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 65 mm in October.

What time of day is best to see a Horse-Chestnut Leafminer?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Horse-Chestnut Leafminer sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Madrid the best place to see a Horse-Chestnut Leafminer?

31st of 33

Of the 33 cities where we can rate Horse-Chestnut Leafminer sightings, Madrid ranks 31st at under 5%. The best odds are in Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 30%), Kyiv (Ukraine, about 30%) and Kharkiv (Ukraine, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Horse-Chestnut Leafminer live in Madrid?

Same order: Lepidoptera

The closest relatives of the Horse-Chestnut Leafminer that you can see in Madrid (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Rush Veneer (about 20%), Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (about 20%) and Speckled Wood (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Horse-Chestnut Leafminer sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Horse-Chestnut Leafminer is recorded against all the insects logged in Madrid (8 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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