Out Of The Box

I was excited when I first saw a box-tree moth on the bank of the lake a few years ago as I had never seen one before. I found this one on a dock plant  by the front hedge this afternoon. These moths came to the UK in 2007 from Asia, probably on imported box trees. I'd heard about the damage their caterpillars can cause. I saw it for myself just before the Platinum Jubilee weekend. My daughter and I walked the scarecrow trail with our dogs through the Essex village of Clavering, which has some substantial and beautifully manicured properties. Box balls and topiary had been reduced to bare twigs by the voracious box-tree larvae.