Cheryl, it sounds like the Japanese beetles visited your tree when you were not noticing. The lacey brown crunchy is how they leave things, not many other bugs do that. They can hit one tree and then collectively move on to something else. I agree go out and look at night, there could be some other critter causing the problem and most leaf feeders come out at night when the birds are not there to eat them. Also make sure to look under leaves. You may have had a few Japanese beetles on the tree that you missed since they were under a leaf. Scott

Very interesting, Pam! I raised several Nessus sphinx last year and below are my images of the cats and the adult moth. Mine only had one white stripe, but many have two stripes. However, the broken white line below the white stripe may very well indicate another species in the genus. Adult Moth: Caterpillars: In their last instar, the caterpillars turn the rustic brown color. In typical sphinx fashion, however, they retair their "horn". Thanks for sharing your photos!! I happen to be a moth lover. Susan

I sincerely apologize for the delayed response! I never got any notification of replies to my question so I assumed there were none. I came back on here today because I have a new problem with my marshmallow. I have got them hardened off and they are all outside near my patio. They are definitely growing better but in the last few days, have all gotten purple leaves (still only a very minor issues with the yellowing)! It is only effecting the oldest of the leaves so far but the stems have turned purple too so I'm worried that whatever this is will make it to the beautiful newer leaves as well. I haven't put them in the ground yet because I am terrified of pests destroying them. Something, I think we've come to the conclusion it's birds, has taken every one of the 30 clary sage seedlings and 2 of my comfrey seedlings that I transplanted out. But why on earth would the marshmallow leaves now be turning PURPLE?! Gardening is supposed to relaxing

This species self seeds all over my allotment. You don't harvest it leaf by leaf. Just cut off a whole plant. It needs thorough rinsing because being a winter salad it gets a lot of mud splash and can be gritty if not carefully cleaned. The leaves are larger on the basal rosettes. Once they start to flower the leaves get smaller. But they're perfectly edible at any stage, including the flowers. And superior to lots of other wild greens imo. There are commercially available cultivars with larger leaves.