Genista Broom Moth
Uresiphita reversalis
A moth whose gregarious caterpillars feed in groups on false indigo, broom, lupine, and other legumes, loosely webbing the shoot tips and stripping the foliage. Established plants such as baptisia usually recover and rebloom despite repeated defoliation.
🔎 How to spot it
The caterpillars are about an inch long, brownish green with raised black spots, bright yellow patches on each segment, and sparse long white hairs, and the head is black with white dots. The adult is a light to medium brown moth with a dark spot on each forewing and yellow to orange hind wings. Look for clusters of caterpillars and light webbing at the branch tips.
🥀 Damage it causes
The caterpillars feed in groups and can cause extensive defoliation, eating leaves and tender shoots and leaving loose webbing at the tips. The damage looks alarming because so many feed together. False indigo, brooms, Scotch broom, lupine, and Texas mountain laurel are among the hosts.
🛡️ Prevent it
Scout host plants for clusters of young caterpillars and webbing, especially in late summer and early fall when they are most abundant. Handpick or prune out infested shoot tips while the colonies are small. Established baptisia tolerates repeated defoliation and shoots back out, so light infestations can often be left alone.
🧯 If it is already here
Treat young caterpillars with Bacillus thuringiensis, insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, or neem, which work best while larvae are small. Larger caterpillars may need a labeled pyrethroid such as permethrin or bifenthrin for its longer residual. Spot-treating colonies is usually enough on a single shrub.
💡 Good to know
There can be several generations a year in the South, and the insect overwinters in cocoons on or near the base of its hosts. Because baptisia recovers so reliably, control is often about appearance rather than plant survival. The bright warning colors reflect toxins the caterpillars take up from their legume hosts.
🌱 Plants it attacks
10 plants in the library can be attacked by this pest
For educational and informational purposes only. Pest control advice is general guidance drawn from university cooperative extension sources; always identify a pest positively and read and follow the label on any product before use, especially around food crops, children, and pets.