Abstract:
Defoliators are insects that feed on leaf tissues. This
feeding group also includes leaf-mining insects which
feed within the leaf, leaf tiers and leaf rollers which make
shelter from leaves and graze this from within, and leaf
skeletonizers which eat the leaf tissue between the
networks of leaf veins. Examples of common defoliators
include grasshoppers, butterflies and moth larvae
(caterpillars), leaf beetles, weevils. Typical symptoms
of defoliation include large amount of missing foliage,
normally uneaten parts of leaves e.g. petiole are common;
browning of leaves; silk shelters and web enclosing
foliage; insect remains including larval skin and frass,
branch mortality and top kill, and whole tree mortality in
very severe and persistent cases.