Since 2018, there has been an annual and increasing trend in Western Australia of native budworm (Helicoverpa punctigera) causing feeding damage in cereal crops, particularly wheat, which is not the species’ traditional host crop. An early hypothesis was that large populations had migrated earlier than usual into the grain-growing regions, with adults laying eggs on volunteer pulses, volunteer canola or weed hosts that had been subsequently sprayed out, forcing the larvae to transfer to the cereal crop. However, from 2020 there were reports that adults were directly laying eggs on cereal plants and developing on them. This poses a serious threat if this species migrates into cereal crops, regardless of traditional hosts, thereby threatening crop yield. Additionally, broad-spectrum insecticide has been applied to manage the pest without any critical understanding of this new behaviour, the population dynamics, or the potential economic impact of native budworm in non-traditional cereal hosts.

Further information and understanding is required to provide growers with management guidelines and reduce unnecessary insecticide application. This local investment in native budworm will provide growers and advisers with information on when and why native budworm are being detected in cereal hosts, and numbers required to cause economic yield losses to determine when and what management is required.