MSU Extension Integrated Pest Management

Skeletonizers

Insect

Skeletonizers

Choreutis pariana (Clerck) Psorosina hammondi (Riley) Bucculatrix canadensisella Chambers

Lepidoptera

Distribution: C. pariana: Most fruit-growing states and provinces in eastern North America and south to VA. P. hammondi: Southeastern Canada and south through the central and mid-Atlantic states. B. canadensisella: Mainly southeastern Canada.

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Apple-and-thorn skeletonizer: Choreutidae Choreutis pariana (Clerck) Appleleaf skeletonizer: Pyralidae Psorosina hammondi (Riley) Birch skeletonizer: Bucculatricidae Bucculatrix canadensisella Chambers The adults of the skeletonizers are brown and short, with transverse bands (A, B) on each forewing. The larvae are yellow to pale green with numerous hairy discs on each segment of the body (C).

• Crops Affected: apples

  Damage

  Attack apple and other fruit trees. Larvae of the skeletonizers feed on the upper leaf surface, leaving only the veins and the lower epidermis of the leaf. C. pariana creates webbing in leaf creases.

  Management

  These insects cause few problems. The removal and destruction of affected branches is usually sufficient to eliminate the caterpillars observed on the trees.