- Narrow distribution. Asia, Oceania. On banana, plantains, Heliconia, Pandanus.
- Caterpillars feed on skin of the fruit, going from one bunch to the next as the leaves lift. The damaged fruit becomes rough, dark and scab-like as it ages.
- Cultural control: inspect the crop daily and before the flower stalks are horizontal, (i) partly or completely remove the leaves over the flowers, and (ii) spray the fruit with water or dust with ashes.
- Chemical control: (i) Biopesticides: spinosad or Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis); (ii) synthetic pesticides: inject with e.g., chlorpyrifos, bifenthrin, acephate into the upright bunch. Can also lift/remove leaves and dust or spray before the flower bends over.
