Tuesday, 12 September 2023

Box-tree moth explosion

 Anyone else experiencing an explosion in Box-tree moth catches? I had ones and twos per year from 2017 until 2021 when I got 6 in the year. 2022 I got 40. 

Night before last I had 30. As I went out to the trap there was one in the hedge. Last night there was one on the kitchen door and one in the bathroom plus a dozen in the trap.

I wonder there is enough Box locally to sustain such large populations and I'm hearing about much larger catches elsewhere.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

2 comments:

  1. Currently digging out all our Box. All dead as a door nail. Did try taking out larvae at first but complete waste of time. Yours are probably coming from our garden!.

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  2. Yes. Quite a lot last year and 2021. This year even more as they burst on the scene on 27 June with 28 that night in a Robinson. Every trap since has had a few, with an increase to 10 again on 9 September. I had a box tree in the garden... no more, so perhaps they may decrease again. I went around Waterperry garden last month and there were still some intact box hedges. I wonder for how much longer.

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