What's eating my alocasia wentii (hardy elephant ear)?

Alocasia wentii (Hardy Elephant Ear) is grown both indoors and outdoors and faces spider mites and mealybugs when kept as a houseplant. Outdoors, slugs and vine weevils become significant threats to the large leaves and tubers. Spider mites are the most damaging pest across both settings.

Pale speckling and fine webbing on leaf undersides; large leaves show yellowing and premature leaf drop. Raise humidity for indoor plants; apply neem oil or insecticidal soap spray weekly and wipe leaf surfaces between treatments.

White waxy fluff at petiole bases and corm surface; plant loses vigour and leaves yellow. Treat with isopropyl alcohol swabs, then a thorough neem oil spray; repeat fortnightly until clear.

Ragged holes or entire leaves eaten overnight on outdoor plants; slime trails visible on the soil surface. Apply iron phosphate slug pellets, use copper tape barriers, or hand-pick at night.

Notched leaf edges from adult weevils; grubs in the soil destroy roots and corms, causing sudden collapse. Apply nematode soil drenches (Steinernema kraussei) in late summer/autumn; use sticky barriers on pots.