Cydalima perspectalis

Look what the caterpillars have done to my Box bushes:

Of course, it can get still worse - and probably will if I just leave them untreated.
In the spirit of vaguely scientific enquiry (not a hint of vengeance there) I wanted to see how many larvae I could remove from the bushes by beating.
This is an old-fashioned and destructive way of collecting: You lay a white sheet beneath the bush and thrash the bush with a big stick. The big bush is on the edge of woodland and so the side that is photographed faces the sun for a good part of the day. The other side points into the dark wood.
Sunny side - 35 larvae + 1 pupa from 2 beatings.
Dark side - 3 larvae + 1 pupa.
At the 'end' (half the light) - 15 larvae.
The poor little bush in front of the shed - 18 larvae. (It gets a fair bit of light).
So it would seem Cydalima much prefers the light (warmer?) parts of the plant for egg laying.
I wonder if this might offer a bit of salvation for those wild-growing Box bushes up in the Chilterns, where quite a few of them are under-story plants in woodlands.

Andy King.