Vapourer Moth vs Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Vapourer Moth Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner
Scientific Name Orgyia antiqua Cameraria ohridella
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Erebidae Gracillariidae
Size 25-35 mm wingspan (males only) 7-8 mm wingspan
Habitat Woodlands Underground
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions Europe, temperate Asia, North America Originally Balkans, now across Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Vapourer Moth

A moth in which males are russet-brown day-fliers while females are completely wingless and never leave their cocoon. Females lay eggs directly on their own pupal case.

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Did You Know?

The flightless female produces a powerful pheromone that attracts males from great distances to her cocoon.

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.