Gumleaf skeletoniser

• Hairy caterpillars (larvae) with yellow and brown markings and a 'hat' made up of head capsules that are shed after each moult.
• Larvae are 5–20mm long.
• Young larvae usually cluster on the leaf surface, while older larvae disperse and feed individually.
• The adult moth has a 3cm wingspan with light and dark grey wings.
• See high-resolution images of the gumleaf skeletoniser.

Similar species

Can be distinguished from other hairy caterpillars found on eucalypts by the:

• skeleton-like appearance of the damage
• 'hat' formed on the head of the caterpillars.

• Widespread across temperate, subtropical and tropical Australia.

• Western white gum (Eucalyptus argophloia)
• Narrow-leaved ironbark (E. crebra)
• Forest red gum (E. tereticornis)
• Spotted gum (Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata)

• Larvae graze both leaf surfaces, leaving a skeleton of leaf veins. Affected trees have a bronze, scorched appearance from a distance. Older larvae chew entire leaves.
• Damage is usually restricted to several leaves on a few branches per tree and not widespread in a plantation. However, periodic outbreaks can completely defoliate trees.
• Trees usually recover from damage over time, but repeated defoliation can cause abnormal growth or even tree death.

• Eggs are laid in lines or parallel rows, usually on the underside of a leaf and in large groups of up to 200.
• Younger caterpillars graze in groups for the first several moults, before becoming solitary as they age.
• Pupation occurs in cocoons created within bark or leaf litter.

• Control of caterpillars on trees in the landscape is not feasible.
• Larvae are covered with stinging hairs which can cause severe skin irritation in humans. Caterpillars near houses may be sprayed with household insecticides and surface sprays to prevent entry.

• Berndt, LA, and Allen, GR 2010, Biology and pest status of Uraba lugens Walker (Lepidoptera: Nolidae) in Australia and New Zealand, Australian Journal of Entomology, 49(3):268–277, viewed July 2023.
• Carnegie, A, Lawson, SA, Smith, T, Pegg, GS, Stone, C, and McDonald, J. 2008. Healthy hardwoods: a field guide to pests, diseases and nutritional disorders in subtropical hardwoods. Forest and Wood Products Australia, Victoria.
• Jones, DL, Elliot, WR, Jones, SR. 2015. Pests, Diseases, Ailments and Allies of Australian Plants. Reed New Holland Publishers Pty Ltd, Chatswood, NSW.