Bug FAQEucalyptus Stem Gall Wasp
Leptocybe invasa · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Eulophidae
Also called: Gall wasp
Source: Wikipedia
The adult wasp is just over a millimeter long, brown with a blue-green shine and yellowish leg parts. Females lay eggs in young eucalyptus leaf buds; larvae develop inside galls and emerge after 3 to 4 months. In warm areas up to six generations may appear each year.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The wasp’s body is brown with a slight blue-green iridescence and some leg parts are yellowish.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
It measures just over one millimeter in length.
Source: Wikipedia
How to get rid of it
The parasitoid Quadrastichus mendeli, with a short development time, has been an effective control agent in the Mediterranean. Selitrichodes neseri, a species-specific eulophid ectoparasitoid discovered in Australia in 2014, shows promise for biological control.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It originates from Australia.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adult females inject a line of tiny eggs into the epidermis of new eucalyptus leaf buds. The larvae develop inside the galls that form on the buds.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults emerge from the galls after three to four months of development. Temperate regions may see two to three generations per year, while tropical areas can have up to six.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 2 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Arizona.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How does the wasp damage eucalyptus trees?
Females lay eggs in new leaf buds, and the developing larvae kill those buds.
Source: Wikipedia
How many generations can occur in a year?
In temperate zones there are usually two to three generations, while tropical areas may have up to six.
Source: Wikipedia
What natural enemies help control this wasp?
Quadrastichus mendeli and Selitrichodes neseri are parasitoids that have been effective in controlling it.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Eulophidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptocybe_invasa
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.