Every spring a caterpillar defoliates our shrubs. It starts as a very tiny grey smooth bodied (I think) caterpillar- I think it has black stripes. They grow very quickly into larger caterpillars and will eat all the leaves in about a 2 or 3 week period. The shrubs are on the north side of the house and often I forget about them till it is too late. It would be nice to know if eggs are laid in the ground or how I could start control in the fall. I have looked at pictures of a lot of caterpillars but don't see any that look like these. This doesn't seem to give a very good description but maybe someone has had experience with these things and can come up with some advice. Thanks.