- Widespread distribution. On coconut, and other palms: betel nut, oil palm, sago palm, date palm, and ornamental palms. An important pest.
- Adults and larvae tunnel into the base of stems and fronds; leaves in the crown wilt and die. Larvae tunnel into the soft insides for up to 1 m.
- Often difficult to see the symptoms until internal damage is severe.
- Natural enemies: red-eye assassin bug; earwigs.
- Cultural control: destroy infested stems by cutting and burying; if leaves are removed from palms during harvests, cut them where leaflets start.
- Chemical control: commercial pheromone lures available; trunk injections unlikely to be economic.