Fruit-piercing moths are significant pests of a range of fruit crops throughout much of the world's tropics and subtropics. Feeding damage by the adult moths is most widely reported in varieties of citrus. In the years 2003 and 2004, fruit-piercing moth activity was observed regularly at night in citrus crops in northeast Australia, to determine the level of maturity (based on rind colour) and soundness of fruit attacked. 'Navelina' navel and 'Washington' navel orange, grapefruit and mixed citrus crops were assessed, and fruit was rated and placed into five categories: green, colouring, ripe, overripe and damaged. There were no statistical differences in the percentage of fruit attacked in each category across crops. However, within the individual crops significant proportions of green 'Navelina' fruit (58.7%) and green mixed citrus (57.1%) were attacked in 2004. Among all the crops assessed, 25.1% of moth feeding occurred on overripe or damaged fruit. Crops started to be attacked at least 8 weeks before picking, but in two crops there were large influxes of moths (reaching 27 and 35 moths/100 trees, respectively) immediately before harvest. Moth activity was most intense between late February and late March. Eudocima fullonia (Clerck) represented 79.1% of all moths recorded on fruit, with Eudocima materna (L.), Eudocima salaminia (Cramer) and Serrodes campana (Guen.) the only other species observed capable of inflicting primary damage.Our results suggest that growers should monitor moth activity from 8 weeks before harvest and consider remedial action if moth numbers increase substantially as the crop matures or there is a history of moth problems. The number of fruit pickings could be increased to progressively remove ripe fruit or early harvest of the entire crop contemplated if late influxes of moths are known.

Three habitats, each containing a diflferent form (rainforest, coastal and dry tropics) of the twining vine Tinospora smilacina, and a fourth with two of these forms were routinely sampled between 1986 and 1989 for larvae of fruitpiercing moths, to ascertain spatial and temporal utilization of this plant, Othreis fullonia and Othreis materna occurred on all forms in all habitats, predominantly between November and March for the former and January to June for the latter. Although Rhytia cocalus utilized two forms of T. smilacina it preferred the rainforest habitat to which Othreis jordani and Khadira aurantia were essentially confined. While the degree of cohabitation between any two moth species was greatest in the drier inland habitat, where only O. materna and O. fullonia occurred during a limited season, there was considerable temporal separation of any two species utilizing T. smilacina in any habitat. Field and laboratory evaluation of alternative menisperm hosts suggested O. fullonia, O. fordani and K. aurantia were generalists while O. materna and R. cocalus confined their feeding to the genus Tinospora. The differential habitat affinities and host plant acceptance of these moths are pertinent to their variable seasonal activity, local importance and general pest status.

Lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) and carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.) fruit, either attacked by fruitpiercing moths or undamaged, were compared on a number of occasions for weight, moisture percentage, softness, colour, �Brix, and pH, to profile fruit susceptibility in North Queensland. Height at which fruit were damaged on a tree and the tree's position in an orchard were also considered. On average 88.8% of moths inflicting damage to all fruit were Othreis fullonia (Clerck). In both crops, fruit in outer rows were more prone to attack than elsewhere in an orchard, indicating that orchard layout, trap crops, and attractive baits could all be considered to counteract these pests. No other characteristic differed significantly (P>0.05) between damaged and adjacent undamaged lychees. In damaged lychees, �Brix ranged from 11.0 to 22.8 and pH varied from 3.3 to 4.8. Highly significant (P<0.001) differences in fruit weight, colour, �Brix, and pH were recorded between damaged and undamaged carambolas; riper fruit were attacked on any individual occasion. Total soluble solids ranged from 5.2 to 11.8 �Brix in damaged carambolas and pH varied from 2.5 to 4.4. Some comparisons between cultivars were undertaken in each crop.

Fruit‐piercing moth activity was assessed in lychee or carambola crops on the wet tropical coast and on the dry tropical tablelands of north‐eastern Queensland between 1985 and 1993. Monitoring occurred at fruiting, from 30 min after sundown for 1 h by systematically inspecting orchard trees under torchlight. Six species were recorded: Eudocima fullonia (Clerck), Eudocima jordani (Holland), Eudocima materna (L.), Eudocima salaminia (Cramer), Eudocima aurantia (Moore) and Eudocima cocalus (Cramer). Moths were detected between November and August, with activity lowest during the driest months (July–October) when fruit availability also decreased. Most annual variation in moth numbers occurred at the beginning of the wet season (November–December) when lychees cropped. The principal species recorded at all three sites on both fruit types between November and mid‐March was E. fullonia. It represented 95.5% of the moths on coastal lychees. During autumn, the major species in carambola crops were E. jordani on the coast and E. materna on the tablelands (where total activity was only about half that in the coastal crop). Over all sampling years, 77.9% of all moths caught on coastal fruit were males, compared to 51.4% on tableland fruit. Of the female moths dissected from all sites, 77.7% contained spermatophores and fully developed eggs. An assessment of moth activity through a single night (19.00–05.00 h) in coastal carambolas showed that 72.9% of all moths arrived before midnight. The results indicate that there are opportunities in tableland areas for fruit production during the dry season without the need for control measures.

Plastic mulches and mineral oil plus insecticide sprays were evaluated for control of papaya ringspot potyvirus (PRV-W) in zucchini (Cucurbita pepo cv. 'Blackjack') in two field experiments in Queensland, Australia. Treatments were compared using a proportional hazards survival model. Mulches with a reflective (silver) surface reduced the hazard ratio (Hr) from 1 in the controls to 0.32, while mineral oil plus insecticide sprays (Hr 0.33) were as effective as reflective mulches used alone (Ρ>0.05). A combination of reflective mulch and oil plus insecticide sprays was the most effective treatment (Hr 0.16). Black mulch alone (Hr 0.66) was partly effective and significantly better than control (Ρ<0.05). Blue and grey mulches were not effective (Hr 0.86 and 0.99, respectively). Spraying with deltamethrin alone (Hr 0.75) improved control compared to the no-spray treatment (Ρ<0.05) but was not as effective as sprays of Albarol ® mineral oil plus demeton-S-methyl (Hr 0.26) (P>0.05). Albarol ® (Hr 0.26) provided significantly better control (Ρ<0.05) than Lovis ® (Hr 0.46) when each was combined with demeton-S-methyl. Improved protection against PRV-W was directly related to low aphid numbers on plants and to low alate numbers collected in water traps placed within the treatments. In both experiments, yield of symptomless fruit was approximately doubled by the combined treatment of reflective mulch and mineral oil plus insecticide sprays, and this increase was due to an extended cropping period of 6.2 commercial picks in the control to 14.5 in the first experiment and from 8.8 to 16.0 in the second. Other treatments resulted in differences in yield and number of commercial picks in proportion to the efficacy of treatments against PRV-W.