- Narrow distribution. Southeast Asia, North America (Hawaii), Oceania. On poinciana, Acacia, Cassia and Leucaena. An important pest.
- Egg on leaflets; at first, caterpillars feed together, later solitary, up to 7 cm, with “neck” region behind a large head, and white band along the back. Adults are brown, with wavy lines on wings.
- Damaging: frequent stripping of leaflets causes dieback, and loss of vigour and encourages borers.
- Cultural control: it is possibly that weather is more important than natural enemies.
- Chemical control: Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) is effective but likely to be uneconomic in most situations.