Bizarre ‘cobweb’ effect in cemetery caused by moth caterpillar invasion
Locals are horrified by the mess made by thousands of very hungry caterpillars
A CEMETERY has become a hotbed for ermine moth caterpillars after they created a giant web to cocoon their feeding plants.
Hiding in the web are THOUSANDS of very hungry caterpillars which have descended on Penn Cemetery, in Wolverhampton, West Mids.
It's causing chaos for churchgoers who say they have never seen anything like the caterpillar invasion.
Dennis Tonks, aged 74 , said: "I went there last week to visit the graves of my mum, Mavis and my dad, Dennis.
"I couldn't believe it when I got there. It looked as though the trees were covered in white stockings. I didn't know whether the caterpillars were turning into butterflies or something, but there were thousands of them.
"I took my granddaughter up to see them and she was amazed.
"I was expecting her to perhaps be a little frightened, but she was just fascinated."
The webs have spread as far and wide as the trees that line the grounds, encompassing the truck and several of the branches.
The trees look white and are fully covered in a web like coating with the bugs all over them, with almost all of the leaves eaten off the tree.
Mr Tonks added: "My dad only passed away in November last year and my mother four years ago. Just a week before, I visited them and the trees had leaves on the trees and everything was in bloom.
"Now, there's no leaves and just this thick white webbing.
"I don't know what can be done about it."
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The cemetery is close to St Bartholomew's Church but does not fall under their jurisdiction.
A spokesman from Wolverhampton council, said: "We believe these to be harmless ermine moth caterpillars and nothing to worry about.
"The advice we have had from the Butterfly Conservation Society is that it is best to simply admire this amazing spectacle, leave them be and let nature take its course. They will soon disappear."
The Butterfly Conservation Society's website states that there are often reports at this time of year of the webbing covering hedgerows and, on occasions, individual trees.
The webs hide hundreds and sometimes tens of thousands of caterpillars.
What are ermine moth caterpillars?
The creatures are causing chaos for churchgoers
The species spin the webs and live together in large numbers due to an evolutionary strategy, providing protection from predators through safety in numbers.
However, numbers are hard to hide and hence the production of the silken webbing.
The webs and caterpillars are harmless and usually last from May to June.
They slowly disappear over the summer and typically the hedgerow shrubs and trees recover.
The adult moths fly later in summer and all look superficially similar, being white or greyish with many small black dots, hence the ermine name.
There are eight species in the group, although only the Orchard Ermine Yponomeuta padella, Spindle Ermine Y. cagnagella and Bird-cherry Ermine Y. evonymella tend to produce such extensive webbing.
On the website it states: "Sometimes these webs are so extensive that they can cover nearby objects such as benches, bicycles and gravestones."
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