- Widespread distribution. South and Southeast Asia, Oceania. Cocoa, Pacific lychee, rambutan, and cola are hosts. An important pest.
- The borer is a moth. Eggs laid on the pods 2-6 weeks before maturity; the larvae hatch, tunnel into the pod and feed around the beans. Pods ripen early.
- Considered one of the worse pest of cocoa, with losses of 20-50%.
- Biosecurity: follow international guidelines. Several biotypes; non-pest strains in some Pacific island countries.
- Cultural control: prune every 6 months to create open canopy on trees only 3 m high; pick pods as soon as yellow, and every 7 days, to interrupt life cycle of the moth; bury infested pods; area control is important, i.e., farmers in an area should all apply control measures simultaneously, otherwise moths will come from adjacent infested farms.
- Chemical control: none recommended.
