© Peter Lawson/Eastnews Press Agency LtdPlague: The bench and ground is covered in a silk-like web cocooning caterpillars at Southend Cemetery
The scene at Southend Cemetery in Essex is straight out of a horror film with silken threads draped over trees, plants and gravestones.
It has been caused by an invasion of thousands of bird cherry ermine moth caterpillars who have created a vast web-like nest.
Nova Bickmore, 69, could not believe the sight when she visited her father's grave.
She said: 'There were thousand upon thousand of caterpillars and a silk web all over the trees, which had no leaves left.
'Some of the caterpillars were hanging down from the trees and others were all over the floor.
'It was a really ghostly scene.' In their caterpillar stage, the bugs, known as web worms, weave leaves of trees together and eat them from their nests.
They feed on bird cherry trees which are found across Europe and when they emerge fully grown, they become distinctive white moths with five rows of black dots.
Sheila Weeks, from Ramsden Heath, went to tend her sister's grave and was shocked by the scene which met her.
She said: 'The trees are all covered with what looks like white net. There are millions of them.
© Peter Lawson/Eastnews Press Agency LtdGrim: A trail of caterpillars crawl up a tree trunk
'It's very eerie. The trees are shrouded in lacy silk from top to bottom and they are all over the grass and graves - they are quite a sight.'
Roger Payne, natural history curator at Southend Museum, said the caterpillars will emerge as moths next month.
He said: 'They have good years and bad years and this is obviously a good one for them.
'The fact they are on the ground means there are so many of them they are probably starving and have fallen from the trees in search of food.'
Southend Council staff said that the moth invasion had been brought to their attention, but said there were no plans to get rid of the bugs.
Park officer Paul Sinclair said: 'We because aware of this problem last week. These creatures are affecting about 30 trees.
'We believe they are bird cherry tree ermine moths as they are only on these trees but we have taken samples of larvae and are growing them on to see what emerges.
'Last year it affected fewer trees. They stripped the leaves off the trees but the trees all seemed to survive.
'It is a natural phenomenon, so we don't want to go spraying chemicals if we don't need to. We will monitor the situation.'
© Peter Lawson/Eastnews Press Agency LtdWeird: A grave covered with s web of caterpilars that eventually will develop into bird cherry ermine moths
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