The Invasive Horse-Chestnut Leaf Miner Cameraria ohridella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) in the Southern Russia: Preliminary Molecular Genetic Characterization

The horse-chestnut leaf miner Cameraria ohridella is a micromoth that in the last few decades invaded most of the European continent becoming a notorious ornamental pest. This species was also recorded in the European part of Russia, including the southern regions, where it causes impressive damage affecting health of its host plant, horse chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum. Our preliminary molecular genetic study based on the analysis of the gene COI mtDNA in a few individuals sampled in Moscow and the southern Russian (in the Republics of Crimea and Adygea) indicates the presence of one haplotype, widely distributed across Europe.