Slug caterpillars (nettle caterpillars)
Flat, slug shaped caterpillars with stinging spines eat the leaves from the edges and leave papery windows.
Also called
Tilas (abaca, Cebuano)
Crops it attacks
Where the damage shows
When to act
In oil palm, count live larvae on one lower frond of sample palms every month. The usual action level is about 5 to 10 larvae per frond, or fresh damage spreading across patches. In abaca, banana and coconut, act when young larvae spread over many plants. Outbreaks often crash on their own from disease.
What to spray
- Bacillus thuringiensis aizawaiIRAC 11AShopeeLazada
- Bacillus thuringiensis kurstakiIRAC 11AShopeeLazada
Active ingredients only, never brands. The IRAC group tells how it works: switch to a different group next time, so the pest does not learn to survive it. Spray only when the damage is worth the cost, and only with products registered with the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority for your crop. Follow the label. The Shopee and Lazada links only show who sells something with that active ingredient, not a recommendation of any seller or product.
How to prevent it
- Plant nectar plants such as Turnera, Cassia cobanensis or cadena de amor along roads and borders to feed the parasitic wasps.
- Prune and burn heavily eaten fronds or leaves early, before the larvae spin cocoons.
- Collect the cocoons from leaf bases and from the soil around the trunk, and loosen that soil to expose them.
- Avoid broad spectrum sprays: they kill the parasites and set off new outbreaks.
- Wear gloves and long sleeves when you work among them, because the spines sting.
Natural enemies and biological help
- Parasitic wasps and flies, assassin bugs and a virus disease usually end outbreaks. Protect them.
- Bt sprays on young larvae work well and spare these natural enemies.
- Light traps at night catch the moths before they lay eggs.
Not sure it is this one?
Many pests look alike. Send a photo to Anee, the smart farm technician in anee.io. She reads it with your crop, its age and the weather, and tells you what it most likely is and what to do first. In Tagalog or English.