They feed on the seeds and pods of a wide range of plants, including Punica granatum, Citrus fruit, Pistacia vera, Juglans regia, Prunus dulcis, Macadamia integrifolia, Acacia farnesiana, Caesalpinia sappan, Cassia bicapsularis, Ricinus, Erythrina monosperma, Haematoxylum campechianum, Prosopis juliflora, Samanea saman, Phoenix dactylifera, and Ceratonia siliqua.

[1] During the past 25 years, the locust bean moth has caused between 10 and 40% damage of the harvestable crop annually,[2][3] which equates to roughly $3.1 – $12.7 million in economic losses, not including control costs.

This produces a "fog" of insecticide during application that essentially blankets the ground with malathion, which is wasteful and creates unintended nontarget effects on other animal species, as well as "environmental pollution".

Furthermore, the accumulation of the malathion dust on the skin of dates creates problems with desiccation of the fruit, reducing the overall quality of the product.

[4] When the mimic pheromone is formulated into SPLAT,[5][6] it can be used to control moth populations through "mating disruption" in date gardens and pomegranate and almond orchards.