Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner vs Silvestri's Jumping Bristletail

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner Silvestri's Jumping Bristletail
Scientific Name Cameraria ohridella Pedetontus silvestrii
Order Lepidoptera Archaeognatha
Family Gracillariidae Machilidae
Size 7-8 mm wingspan 8-12 mm
Habitat Underground Underground
Diet Herbivores Detritivores
Regions Originally Balkans, now across Europe Japan, East Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner

A tiny moth that has devastated horse chestnut trees across Europe since its discovery in 1985. Larvae mine inside leaves causing brown blotches. Spread with extraordinary speed across the continent.

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Did You Know?

Spread across the entire European continent in just 20 years, one of the fastest insect invasions ever recorded.

Silvestri's Jumping Bristletail

A well-studied bristletail from Japan and eastern Asia. Recent molecular studies have revealed cryptic species within this lineage.

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Did You Know?

Molecular studies have revealed it may actually be a complex of several cryptic species.