[Mazzie]

What would strip the leaves of florence fennel but leave the stalks?  I had a couple of plants left over from the lottie so potted them up for safe keeping and left them on my (pest secure, ha ha) table in the back garden.

No sign of slugs, whatever it is has had a tiny munch of a bean, squash and basil but left a fairly ripe strawberry and yet stripped four fennel.  Ive checked all my books and they say fennel is generally pest proof 

[radiohead]

Never had anything touch our fennel...thats an odd one.
I transplanted some into their final bed at the weekend and they were still intact tonight......still time to sow some direct I'd say,so alls not lost.

[sunshineband]

Well I know swallowtail butterflies use fennel as a host plant for their caterpillars, but generally are in Norfolk, not Kent.

They are also quite big and easily seen 

(Still thinking)

[compostqueen]

Rabbits won't leave my Florence fennels alone. I noticed again today that they'd been got out through the chicken wire I placed over them 

[Mazzie]

I still have no idea.

Deffinately not bunnies with my dogs around and a 2ft table to contend with   Not seen any bugs at all and the ones on my lottie are doing really well *fingers crossed*

[compostqueen]

Birds? Pigeons. You'll have to fleece them to protect them or a canopy of chicken wire etc 

[sunshineband]

OK I've remembered what it is now -- mouse moth caterpillars also eat fennel (Here isa  a picture of the moth, and yes, I know it doesn't mention fennel, bu they really do eat it)

http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=2299

They would have all pupated by now, and be hatching out into nice new fat moths any day soon, so you would not see any caterpillars left... just the damage 

[Mazzie]

Ahha moths it could be!  We have alot of Ivy and moths love it in their.  If it were pigeons there would be alot more damage to the plants around the potting table and i would have thought the very ripe strawberry would have been the first port of call for a small bird.

The four plants that got munched are slowly recovering and growing more leaves so ive left them, who would have thought with just some stalk they could recover 

[sunshineband]

Next year check out the foliage around early April, and you might find the culprits