Taro hawkmoth
A large, distinctive caterpillar on arbi and other aroid leaves — easy to identify and, thanks to its size, genuinely practical to control by hand-picking.
- Pest type
- Large leaf-eating caterpillar (moth larva)
- Size
- Up to ~80 mm long
- Identification
- Eyespot near the head, tail-horn at the rear
- Main control
- Hand-picking (genuinely practical at this size)
Overview
The taro hawkmoth (Hippotion celerio), also called the vine hawk-moth or silver-striped hawk-moth, is a large caterpillar that feeds on the leaves of arbi/taro and several other aroid and vine crops. It starts out brown and changes to green, brown, red or dark grey as it grows, reaching up to about 80 mm in length.
What makes it easy to manage is exactly what makes it easy to identify: its size. A large eyespot pattern near the head and a distinctive tail-horn near the rear make this caterpillar unmistakable on the leaf, and its bulk means a grower can genuinely hand-pick it off a crop rather than needing to rely on spraying — the same size that lets it eat a lot of leaf area quickly also makes it slow and conspicuous to find.
How to identify it
- A large caterpillar, up to about 80 mm long, starting brown and changing to green, brown, red or dark grey as it matures.
- A prominent eyespot pattern near the head end and a distinctive pointed tail-horn near the rear — both together are diagnostic.
- Leaves showing large, ragged feeding holes, sometimes with a good part of the leaf area stripped where numbers are high.
- Its large size means it is found resting on or under the leaf it is feeding on, rather than hidden deep in the plant.
What causes it and when
- The moth lays eggs on the leaves; the hatching caterpillars feed and grow through several stages before pupating in the soil.
- Feeds on arbi/taro and a range of other aroid and vine hosts, so pressure can build where several such crops are grown nearby.
- Numbers usually build gradually rather than exploding overnight, which is what makes hand-picking a workable strategy if scouting is regular.
Cultural & organic control
- Hand-pick and destroy caterpillars during regular field walks — their large size makes them genuinely easy to find and this is often enough on its own.
- A Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) spray is effective on younger, smaller caterpillars if numbers are too high for hand-picking alone.
- Conserve natural predators and parasitoid wasps, which help keep populations down between seasons.
Chemical control
- Reserve insecticide for genuinely high numbers where hand-picking and Bt cannot keep pace.
- A recommended insecticide targeted at young caterpillars works better than spraying once they are large and established.
- Follow the label and confirm the current recommended product with your local KVK.
Prevent it coming back
- Keep up regular field walks through the growing season — this pest's size means early detection is genuinely achievable.
- Conserve the natural predators and parasitoids that help suppress numbers between crops.
- Turn over the soil after harvest where practical, since the caterpillar pupates in the soil.
Crops most at risk
Where this problem is called out in our crop guides — open a crop for the full package of practices.
Frequently asked questions
There is a large green/brown caterpillar with a horn on its tail eating my arbi leaves. What is it?
That is almost certainly the taro hawkmoth (Hippotion celerio) — a large caterpillar, up to about 80 mm, with a distinctive eyespot near the head and a pointed tail-horn at the rear. Its size, while it lets it eat leaf area quickly, also makes it one of the easier pests to control: hand-pick and destroy it during regular field walks, or use a Bt spray on younger caterpillars if numbers are high.
Do I need to spray for taro hawkmoth?
Usually not as a first response. Because this caterpillar is large and easy to spot, hand-picking during regular field walks is often enough on its own. Reserve insecticide, or a Bt spray on young caterpillars, for situations where numbers have built up too high for hand-picking to keep pace.
Symptoms and control measures follow ICAR, KVK and state agricultural-university package-of-practices; any named chemical is a registered use. Always read the product label and confirm the dose for your crop and zone. editorial policy.