Invasive Box Tree Caterpillars ravage bushes at Peterborough's Central Park

An invasive species of caterpillar measuring just a couple of centimetres long has caused devastation at a city centre park, leaving normally green bushes bare and brown.

The Box Tree Caterpillar, from Asia, has become a common sight in the south of England in recent years – but now it has arrived in Peterborough, and it has stripped scores of hedge rows in the park of all colour and foliage.

Rows of hedge which have taken the park gardening team years to shape and cultivate have had to be removed because of the damage caused by the animals.

The Sunken Garden – home to a number of memorials for the armed forces – has been particularly badly hit.

‘Box hedging will not fully recover’

It is predicted that the problem will occur again in the future.

A spokesperson for Peterborough City Council said: “The box hedges in Central Park have been severely affected by Box Tree Caterpillar in recent weeks. The caterpillars produce webbing over the plant and then eat the box leaves, often resulting in stripping of the bark and killing the plant.

“These caterpillars have become more established in this country over the last few years and defoliation of box plants is a problem that is likely to reoccur in future.

"As the box hedging in the park will not fully recover, a decision has been made to remove it. We are currently considering options for replacing the box hedging and will announce updates in due course.”

RHS advice on how to deal with creatures if you find them in your garden

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said that the best way to remove the caterpillars from gardens is by hand, or by using Pheromone traps, rather than pesticides.

Gardeners who find the caterpillars in their garden are also encouraged to find alternatives to box hedges.

Newly hatched Box Tree Caterpillars are greenish-yellow, with black heads. Older caterpillars reach up to 4cm (1¼in) in length and have a greenish/yellow body with thick black and thin white stripes along the length of the body.

The pupae are concealed in a cocoon of white webbing spun among leaves and twigs.

The adult moth usually has white wings with a faintly iridescent brown border, although the wings can be completely brown or clear. The moth has a wingspan of around 4cm (1¼in)

The pale yellow, flattish eggs are laid sheet-like, overlapping each other, on box leaves. These are very difficult to find.

The RHS said: “Box tree moth overwinters as small caterpillars, hidden between box leaves that have been webbed together in late autumn. These caterpillars begin to become active as the weather warms in the spring – they have been observed feeding as early as February on particularly warm days. By June, caterpillars will have finished feeding, pupated and emerged as adult moths.“There is then a second emergence of adults in late July/early August as the next generation of box tree moths emerge, looking for mates.”