- Widespread distribution. In Asia, Oceania. On snake gourd, melon, cucumber and other cucurbits, the main hosts. Occasionally, an important pest.
- Nymphs and adults suck sap from leaves, stems, fruits. Fruits, shrivel, rot and fall.
- Eggs laid on leaves and stems. Nymphs reddish, darkening later and developing outgrowths on legs. Very long mouthparts.
- Natural enemies: no reports from Pacific islands; elsewhere, assassin bugs, mantids, spiders and wasps.
- Cultural control: avoid planting new crops next to old; handpick – bugs are slow-moving in early morning; collect trash and burn after harvest.
- Chemical control: PDPs: derris or pyrethrum; or synthetic pyrethroids, but they are likely to kill predators.
