Willow problem

[Trixie2]

I have a dwarf willow in a tub. It's four years old and quite healthy. Last year, late Spring, I noticed a few leaves were being stripped of their green tissue by something, leaving only the skeletol frame of the leaf. There was no sign of any kind of mite or grub. I tried spraying a variety of repelants and bug killers without success. In a matter of weeks the whole tree was under attack and all the leaves stripped in the same fashion. The remnants of leaf died and dropped off. Autumn and Winter passed, I expected the tree to die, then come this Spring, first new catkins and then leaves appeared. It is now in full leaf but again the dreaded leaf eater has reappeared and is quickly taking hold.
Any suggestions of what it is and how to sort the problem out please!

[Hawkwalk]

sounds to me like some kind of caterpillar but you would normally be able to see them. I have seen them strip a whole hedge in a matter of days.

[katerich48]

I had this problem the leaves were stripped and it turned out to be vine weevil beetles I found them all on the wall behind the tub that my climbing Hydrangea was in...The only thing is they lay eggs in the pots and the larvae eat the roots of the plant so that eventually dies off ...but you say yours has come back ..I've just had to treat all my plants with nematodes to try and kill off the larvae which went on to strip the roots of half a dozen plants...look up a picture of the beetles on the web and see whether they look familiar