What's eating my colocasia blue hawaii?

Colocasia esculenta 'Blue Hawaii' is a dramatic, dark-leafed taro grown in ponds, bog gardens, and tropical borders. Outdoors, aphids on the stems and caterpillars munching the leaves are the most frequent problems. Slugs target new shoots near water. If kept indoors, spider mites and mealybugs become the main concerns. The dark foliage makes pale stippling easy to spot early.

Clusters on young stems and leaf undersides; sticky honeydew leads to sooty mold; growth distorts Blast with water, apply insecticidal soap, or use neem oil spray; encourage lacewings and ladybirds as biological control.

Large, ragged holes in the dramatic leaf blades; caterpillars often rest on undersides Hand-pick at dusk or apply Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) spray; effective and safe for pond wildlife.

Holes and slime trails on young emerging leaves and petioles, worst near pond edges Remove by hand after dark, use copper tape on containers, or place iron phosphate bait well away from the water.

Pale stippling on the dark leaf surface is highly visible; fine webbing on undersides indoors Raise humidity, rinse leaves, and apply insecticidal soap or neem oil every 7 days until clear.