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Pest

Palm leaf skeletonizer

Homaledra sabalella

Quick reference

Pest class
insect
Host breadth
specialist
Seasonal pattern
Year-round; multiple generations
Treatment hint
Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki) systemic spray; spinosad; horticultural oil suppresses but does not eliminate.
Source
uf_ifas_v1

ID features

Small caterpillars create webbing-and-frass tubes between leaflets; brown debris piles on undersides of fronds.

Damage pattern

Brown frass-filled webbing tubes on Sabal, Cabbage, and other palms; leaflets skeletonized; cosmetic damage primarily.

Hosts

No hosts wired up yet.

Treatments