Britain's box hedges are at risk of being destroyed by a very hungry caterpillar that can devour a hedge and an entire garden in under a week.
The box tree caterpillar (Cydalima perspectalis) is the larval stage of a moth native to the Far East and India.
The pest, which was previously limited to London, is now spreading out across the rest of the country and has been spotted outside the M25.
There have been more than 150 reported sightings this year alone, compared to 20 last year and just three in 2011.
Penny Tham returned from her 10-day holiday to find the 40-year-old box balls in her Fulham garden decimated.
"It's devastating, like a bereavement. The speed is extraordinary. One of mine is practically dead and it only started showing signs a couple of days ago," she explained.
This is a double whammy for the hedge, which is also facing attack from a fungus carried by South American caterpillars.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) says it is now receiving three or four reports of infestations a day.
The moth first became established in Europe in 2007 and was first reported in the UK in 2008.
Experts believe that it originated in China and either flew across the English Channel or stowed away in containers of imported plants.
The camouflaged dark green caterpillars can be difficult to spot until they have already laid waste to a plant.
They leave a thick, stringy web on the branches of hedges they have demolished, which they use to hide behind while they eat.
It's thought that two to three generations of moth can hatch in a year.
The caterpillars can destroy an entire hedge within a day of being laid on the underside of leaves.
The best way to get rid of the topiary chompers is to pick them off and squish or freeze them.
Story originally published by Mirror Online
