Insect eating red currant leaves

Observation by Kendra Zamzow:

Red Currant leaf consumption by something was observed by my supervisor while walking along a salmon stream. She thought it unusual that it seemed to be targeting red currant leaves over several miles of streambank. No other plant types were specifically targeted. Leaves at the top of the plant were the most common to be eaten.

Consult by Derek Sikes:

The damage to these plants is almost certainly caused by a lot of caterpillars of one or more types of moths or butterflies. Without better specimens of the insects it's impossible to be more precise. To my colleague Alex Wenninger (Entomologist | Forest Health and Integrated Pest Management, UAF Cooperative Extension Service, Anchorage) the dead insect in the photo looked like a mourning cloak butterfly caterpillar that had died and shriveled having been killed by a pathogen like a fungus or bacteria. But without more evidence this is the culprit I would simply say it's damage from moth or butterfly (Lepidoptera) larvae.