Researchers from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) and Semmelweis University in Hungary published a study in Plant Stress on how horse chestnut leaves change when attacked by the leaf miner moth Cameraria ohridella, an invasive species first described in 1986.
The larvae mainly eat palisade parenchyma cells, but the surrounding tissue also shows altered chloroplasts and reduced photosynthesis, even when it looks healthy. The team sampled horse chestnut trees in ten urban parks in Budapest and Szombathely between 2021 and 2025.
“Chlorophyll fluorescence imaging may make it possible to detect the presence of larvae,” write lead author Enkhjin Enkhbileg and Katalin Solymosi, which could allow earlier, more targeted plant protection.
