HIGHLY COMMENDED CATEGORY PLANTS AND FUNGI
Theo Bosboom | Ghostly beauty

Name: Theo Bosboom
Picture title: Ghostly beauty
Category: Plants and Fungi
Nationality: The Netherlands
Occupation: Full-time photographer

Technical information
Camera: Canon R5
Lens: Canon RF 15-35 f 2.8 L IS USM
EXIF: 1/50 sec at f14 * ISO 400
Accessories: Leofoto tripod

Theo Bosboom says:

Welcome to the spooky but also incredibly beautiful world of the ermine moth (Yponomeutidae) and its caterpillars! In June 2023, a Google alert notified me of an explosion of willow ermine moth caterpillars in an area on the Waal near Boven-Leeuwen, not very far from my hometown Arnhem (the Netherlands). I went there the same evening and couldn’t believe what I saw: a gigantic old willow tree was completely wrapped in white silk, as well as some of the vegetation around it and a number of other willow trees nearby. In addition, it was crawling with caterpillars, millions of them.

The ermine moth is a small moth, common in the Netherlands and surrounding countries. The caterpillars of the butterfly live together in large numbers. They protect themselves from enemies such as birds and parasitic wasps by wrapping the trunks and branches of trees with white silk so that they can feed on the leaves on the inside undisturbed. The webs can be seen on various tree species such as apple trees and cardinal’s hat, but on willows in particular, the webs can be very extensive. Not without reason the work of the caterpillars is often compared to that of the well-known artist couple Christo, who wrapped the Reichstag in Berlin, countless other buildings and also trees with silk.

Pupation also takes place within the webs, after which the moths fly out and each go their own way. The tree is often eaten completely bare, but ultimately suffers no damage from the caterpillars. After 1 to 2 months the tree will have full leaves again. It is a wonderful example of successful teamwork in nature, a bit similar in that sense to for example the starling murmurations.

I had seen and photographed the work of the ermine moth before, but never on such an extensive scale. It was a marvelous sight of ghostly beauty.