A warning from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. Officials say a number of nurseries have received Canadian Boxwood plants that may be infested with the box tree moths. Box tree moths are an invasive pest that feed on the leaves of boxwood shrubs and can cause complete defoliation, eventually killing the plant. While state and federal inspectors have not found any signs of box tree moths at the nurseries, state officials warn that some of the plants may have been sold before inspections began, or were purchased out of state and planted in Massachusetts. MDAR and APHIS urge anyone in Massachusetts who may have purchased boxwood shrubs this spring to check the plants for signs of the moth. Officials say it is vital that the moth not take hold in the state--causing additional issues.
(Photo Credit: (Courtesy of Ilya Mityushev, Department of Plant protection of the Russian State Agrarian University - Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy.)