Almost 60 years after The Invasion of the Body Snatchers was revealed to the American public, a new invasion has begun by an alien life form unknown to the land they now occupy. They have encased the native life in a webbing, harvesting their bodies for use in their own reproduction.
This, unfortunately, is not a synopsis of the new summer blockbuster, this is a real issue. Fortunately, these aliens are not stealing bodies, they're stealing plant matter, and they are not from beyond our atmosphere, they're from beyond the shores of Britain. The box tree caterpillar, a native of East Asia and India, has begun taking over the plant life of Britain, as reported by the BBC on August 26, 2015. The caterpillar and its moth first arrived in Europe in 2007 and the UK in 2008, but it wasn't until this past year when the outbreak became serious, with 150 cases so far in 2015, an over 8-times increase on the 20 cases in 2014.
These invaders take their name from Box (Latin name Buxus), a genus of shrubs and small trees that are most commonly used for topiary, wood carving, and wooden instruments. Thankfully, their importance does not extend beyond that, as they, as the BBC points out, "aren't noted as being havens for wildlife or insects." Thus, we won't expect any environmental devastation like that caused by other invasive species (such as Brown Tree Snakes in Guam or Canadian Beavers in Tierra del Fuego). Instead, the worst to come may simply be a loss of the definition that box trees provide in topiary, as the balls and hedges common in gardens throughout Britain are slowly snatched by an invisible invader.
This, unfortunately, is not a synopsis of the new summer blockbuster, this is a real issue. Fortunately, these aliens are not stealing bodies, they're stealing plant matter, and they are not from beyond our atmosphere, they're from beyond the shores of Britain. The box tree caterpillar, a native of East Asia and India, has begun taking over the plant life of Britain, as reported by the BBC on August 26, 2015. The caterpillar and its moth first arrived in Europe in 2007 and the UK in 2008, but it wasn't until this past year when the outbreak became serious, with 150 cases so far in 2015, an over 8-times increase on the 20 cases in 2014.
These invaders take their name from Box (Latin name Buxus), a genus of shrubs and small trees that are most commonly used for topiary, wood carving, and wooden instruments. Thankfully, their importance does not extend beyond that, as they, as the BBC points out, "aren't noted as being havens for wildlife or insects." Thus, we won't expect any environmental devastation like that caused by other invasive species (such as Brown Tree Snakes in Guam or Canadian Beavers in Tierra del Fuego). Instead, the worst to come may simply be a loss of the definition that box trees provide in topiary, as the balls and hedges common in gardens throughout Britain are slowly snatched by an invisible invader.