Mining moth is killing Kyiv’s chestnuts; expert urges planting plane trees instead

Mining moth is killing Kyiv’s chestnuts; expert urges planting plane trees instead AI

Dmytro Zaruba, first deputy head of Ukraine’s State Ecological Inspectorate, says chestnut trees across Kyiv are dying each summer because the chestnut mining moth eats leaves from the inside. Effective mass protection is unavailable — vaccination works but costs about €50 a dose — so officials are considering replacements such as plane trees and catalpas. Chestnuts are a familiar symbol on Kyiv streets; replacing them affects central avenues like Khreshchatyk and long tree-lined stretches such as Holosiivskyi Prospekt.

An expert interviewed by Glavcom explains that Kyiv’s recurring summer die‑off of chestnuts is driven mainly by the chestnut mining moth. Larvae hollow out leaf tissue in June–July, causing premature yellowing and leaf drop; heat only speeds the damage.

External chemical treatments are banned by sanitary rules, Zaruba says, and vaccination — while effective — costs roughly €50 per tree, making city‑wide use unaffordable. As a result, the practical municipal response under discussion is large‑scale replacement with hardier species, notably plane trees (platanus) and catalpa; plane trees are already common along Holosiivskyi Prospekt.

The expert also flagged central streets such as Khreshchatyk, where underground concrete and winter salt limit root growth; on those stretches the city should prefer drought‑tolerant species or use planters with automatic irrigation. Kyivzelenbud has also deployed pheromone traps, which officials say can reduce moth numbers over several seasons.

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