Biology, Ecology, and Management of the Diamondback Moth

In recent years, the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae), has become the most destructive insect of cruciferous plants throughout the world, and the annual cost for managing it is estimated to be U.S. $I billion (168). Members of the plant family Cruciferae occur temperate and tropical climates and represent a diverse, widespread, and important plant group that includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, rapeseed, mustard, and Chinese cabbage, the most important vegetable crop grown in China (90), the most populous country in the world. Although the diamondback moth is believed to have originated in the Mediterranean area (64), the source of some of our most important crucifers (185), diamondback moths now occur wherever cmcifers are grown, and this insect is believed to be the most universally distributed of all Lepidoptera (107). Absence of effective natural enemies, especially parasitoids, is believed to be a major cause of the diamondback moth’s pest status in most parts of the world (92). Lack of parasitoids in a particular area may have occurred because the diamondback moth is better able than its natural-enemy complex to become established in newly planted cmcifers. Reports on the ability of diamondback moths to migrate long distances are numerous (19, 40, 54, 58, 108, 120,