What's eating my common boxwood 'suffruticosa'?

Buxus sempervirens 'Suffruticosa' used as a container or indoor topiary faces boxwood leafminer and boxwood mite as the chief pests, plus occasional scale. Outdoors it is also threatened by box tree moth caterpillars. Boxwood leafminer is the single most common and damaging pest of dwarf boxwoods in both the US and UK.

Larvae mine inside leaves causing blistered, discolored foliage; leaves turn yellow-orange and fall early; shrub looks scorched. Prune and destroy infested foliage in spring before adults emerge; apply systemic insecticide (imidacloprid) as a soil drench; time contact sprays to adult flight in May.

Stippled, silvery-gray leaves that look washed out; mites visible with a hand lens on leaf undersides. Apply horticultural oil or miticide spray; improve air circulation; keep plants well watered.

Caterpillars web foliage together and strip leaves to bare stems; rapid defoliation; white webbing inside the plant. Remove webbing and caterpillars by hand; apply Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) spray; use pheromone traps to monitor adults.