Ermine moths as vandals

Ermine moths (see prev.) are in the news:

The moth, or rather its caterpillars, created a stir this May when they were reported to have stripped bare 15 fully grown trees in Shipley Hall Fields, a small but popular municipal park in the Frizinghall area.

It was not the thousands of inch-long caterpillars that caused consternation but their behaviour, as they wove giant webs over the whole trees, including the trunks, and even the railings of the park. People were so nervous that the park was deserted, and councillors demanded the moth larvae be zapped.

A council worker who went to look said 20 mature trees had completely disappeared under white silk: "It was warm, but it was as if a big frost had hit the park, about minus 40C with hoar frost. The vegetation had disappeared as in a film."

Source: Guardian