Some very hungry caterpillars have overtaken slugs and snails in the battle for the greediest pest in the garden, it has been revealed.
The box tree caterpillar has been named a gardeners' greatest foe, knocking its slimy rivals off the top spot for the first time in almost a decade.
The invasive hedge-eating pest was awarded the accolade by the British Horticultural Society (RHS), on the grounds that its gardening advice team received more enquiries about its eating habits than it did about any other pest.
Only discovered in the UK in 2011, the box tree caterpillar has quickly chomped its way to the top of the rankings.
Native to East Asia, the caterpillar is now making itself at home across the Home Counties and is spreading across south east England, gardening experts say.
Slugs and snails were second on the list of the RHS's top 10 pests list.
They were followed by aphids, large cabbage white butterflies, vine weevil, cushion scale, lily beetle, rosemary beetle, fuschia gall mite and woolly aphid.
Meanwhile, honey fungus, which attacks and kills the roots of woody and perennial plants, topped the list of worst garden diseases.
RHS head of plant health Gerard Clover said: "Dealing with pests and diseases is a reality for gardeners, but by sharing their observations, insights and samples with RHS scientists they are helping us identify those areas where we need to focus our research efforts to better control pests and diseases.
"We are currently undertaking research that we hope will mean that slugs and snails will become less of a problem in the future, as we work to determine the most effective ways of controlling them