Beijing park’s caterpillar hunt is latest move to fight invasive webworms in the Chinese capital

Beijing Wildlife Park has invited visitors over the “golden week” holiday to join a bounty hunt for invasive North American fall webworms, offering free tickets to those who catch the most caterpillars. The Chinese capital has been struggling to contain a seasonal outbreak of the pests originally from the US, Canada and Mexico. Accidentally spread to Europe and Asia decades ago, the insects now threaten hundreds of species of trees, flowers and crops in China. Authorities have also released parasitic wasps and started spraying and trapping the pests.