Gum leaf skeletoniser caterpillar
Uraba lugens Walker
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nolidae
Size range
- Medium sized caterpillar, 20–30 mm.
Distribution
- Australian, first recorded in New Zealand in 1997.
Life History
- Moth, wingspan 50 mm.
- Eggs laid in parallel lines on both surfaces of gum leaf.
- Caterpillars often have a distinctive ‘cap’ of discarded head capsules.
- Caterpillar hairs may cause irritation to human skin.
- Damage to leaves of Eucalyptus, by skeletonising and defoliation