Horse-chestnut Leaf Miner - Origin and Epidemiology

Origin and Epidemiology

Cameraria ohridella was first noticed from outbreaks near Ohrid Lake, Macedonia in 1984, and was described as a new species by Deschka and Dimić in 1986. A likely Balkan origin for this moth was evidenced from a decrease in genetic diversity from natural towards artificial horse-chestnut stands that were planted around Europe since around 1600. This Balkan origin is further documented by numerous herbarium samples that date back to 1879. These include an outbreak which occurred in horse-chestnut specimens collected by F.K. Meyer in 1961 in Albania. Of the 30 known mitochondrial haplotypes for the species only three (known as A, B and C) have invaded the rest of Europe since 1989, and only A is dominant. It is likely that the frequency of haplotype A has been increasing even in Balkan natural sites, aided by the late development of roads in the region.