Biological control of pests and weeds in the South Pacific

Following the successful control of passionfruit scale in Samoa, ACIAR (with additional assistance from AIDAB) has started work to combat six other Pacific pests and weeds for which biological control is likely to be quick and cost-effective. The targets are: (1) fruit piercing moth (Samoa), a moth that sucks juice from a variety of fruits,leaving a puncture hole that allows rot to enter and destroy the fruit; (2) lantana (Vanuatu), a serious weed problem in coconut plantations, pastures and on smallholders' land; (3) banana weevil borer (Tonga), which tunnels in the corms at the base of banana plants, causing them to rot and collapse; (4) banana skipper (Papua New Guinea), a butterfly whose caterpillars dramatically defoliate banana plants; (5) giant sensitive plant (Samoa), an invasive weed of plantations and pastures; (6) leucaena psyllid (general Pacific), a tiny sap-sucking insect that defoliates the shrub legume leucaena, which is a valuable fuelwood, fodder and shade plant.