February 2001. A caterpillar from a cabbage imported into Palau; the main point is that the caterpillar was found in the head. It was likely to be Spodoptera litura, tropical armyworm. These insects will eat almost any leafy crops except grass. They often occur suddenly and in plague proportions, but are very susceptible to virus infection and attack by parasitoids. Many insecticides can kill them.

It is such a common insect, that it could have originated from within the country or from outside. It is likely that there are colonies of it in Palau.