The egg stage lasted six days, the larval stage forty days and the pupal stage twenty-two days, may fluctuate with climatic changes. The larvae are considered pests and have been recorded from commercial crops like
coffee,
rubber,
oil palm,
cocoa,
cassava,
tea,
ebony,
coconut,
gliricidia,
banana,
winged bean and
mango. The female is known to emit
pheromone (Z)-7,9-Decadien-1-ol as a
semiochemical. The
cuckoo wasp,
Chrysis shanghaiensis is a known parasite on the caterpillars. In August 1986, dead larvae were found on coconut leaves from India. Experiments showed that, multiple embedded
baculovirus is the causative agent for the disease. ==References==