![]() In addition to feeding damage, caterpillars web together leaves and construct silken retreats. Older caterpillars consume the entire leaf except for the midrib. The young caterpillars feed on the undersides of leaves, which give the leaves a "peeled" appearance from the top. Damageīox tree moth caterpillars feed exclusively on boxwoods. The absence of wild boxwoods in natural areas and the relative lack of ornamental boxwoods in more rural areas may help slow the spread of the moths from urban to suburban areas and between different large urban centers. While boxwoods are one of the most commonly planted ornamentals in North America, the largest plantings occur in urban areas. There are no native boxwood species in continental North America and they are not present in wild areas as invasives, so the only boxwoods that can be infested are those that have been planted as ornamentals. Second, based on DNA evidence, box tree moths were introduced into Europe from Asia multiple times and moved within Europe via nursery trade after they were introduced. Once the moths got onto wild, non-ornamental European boxwoods, they were able to spread relatively unchecked in natural areas. First, two species of boxwood are native to Europe. (2019) and EBTS (2020).īox tree moths were able to spread quickly through Europe due to a couple of factors. Photograph by Didier Descouens via Wikimedia, used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license.įigure 3. Photograph by Christophe Quintin via Flickr, used under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license. As of this writing (December 2023), their presence has been confirmed in New York (2021), Michigan (2022), Ohio (2023), and Massachusetts (2023).įigure 1. Box tree moths were first detected in North America in Toronto, Canada, in November 2018 and in the United States in 2021 in New York state. They were introduced into Germany in 2006 and have subsequently spread throughout most of Europe (Figure 3). Order: Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies)įamily: Crambidae (crambid snout moths) Distribution and Spreadīox tree moths (Figures 1, 2) are native to eastern Asia, including Japan, China, the Russian Far East, Korea, and India. Scientific name: Cydalima perspectalis (Walker, 1859) They were detected in Toronto, Canada in 2018 and have since spread to multiple US states. Box tree moths are invasive moths that feed on boxwood ( Buxus sp.) as caterpillars.
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