Uraba lugens
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Uraba lugens, the gum-leaf skeletoniser, is a moth of the family Nolidae. It is found in Australia and New Zealand. The larvae are a serious pest of Eucalyptus species and their close relatives. The wingspan is 25–30 mm. In Australia there are about one or two generations per year.
Uraba lugens is nicknamed the mad hatterpillar because of its distinctive exoskeletal feature. Every time it sheds the head portion of its exoskeleton, the exoskeleton stays attached to its body. Over time, developing through its life span, the head grows bigger and sheds increasingly larger exoskeleton shells, which build up underneath each other.
Uraba lugens develops as a typical moth. The life cycles occur twice a year: once in the summer and once in the winter. Eggs are laid in groups of 100–200 and are about 1 mm in diameter. Caterpillars are mostly yellow with some black markings. After hatching from a cocoon, the resulting moths are grey in colour. During the larval stage, Uraba lugens can cause damage to trees by chewing.
In 2001, an infestation of U. lugens was discovered in south-west Auckland. By 2007, the population had established throughout the greater Auckland area... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Gum Leaf Skeletoniser sighting in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 611th most-seen of the 789 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and November–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gum Leaf Skeletoniser in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–April and June–October, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gum Leaf Skeletoniser sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Gum Leaf Skeletoniser sightings, Blue Mountains National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Great Otway National Park (Australia, about 10%), Lamington National Park (Australia, about 10%) and Springbrook National Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same family: Nolidae
The closest relatives of the Gum Leaf Skeletoniser that you can see in Blue Mountains National Park (family Nolidae, Tufted Moths) are Patched Tuft Moth (about 10%), Etanna clopaea (about 10%) and Calathusa basicunea (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gum Leaf Skeletoniser is recorded against all the insects logged in Blue Mountains National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
