AusBonsai

90% of leaves affected and many have died off- would it be ok to remove the affected leaves and place the tree in a warm spot for the re-shoot. might do a reduction in canopy height this spring - and some weeding

here they are

I have no experience with anything like it, but if it's a burrowing insect, RichGro BugKilla might be useful. Even if you cut off all the affected leaves and burn them, a dose of that might prevent a recurrence. That's a nasty case...

Gavin

I can vouch for the efficacity of that RichGro BugKilla! It did wonders against the lace bug on my Azaleas, and recently a friend provided me with the same product, so I could treat the red spider mite and/or the webbing caterpillars on several natives, including my big Leptospermum "Mesmereyes. We plucked the nests out of the plants and sprayed them with the BugKilla, and they have been beautifully clean ever since.

Lisa