A very serious situation faces growers due to increasing insecticide resistance, the fall-off in development of new chemicals and the rising costs of insecticides from overseas. This is fueling a renewed interest in the basic biology of Heliothis and other pests. The ecological factors controlling the distribution and abundance of the pest and its natural control agents and the behavioural factors influencing feeding, mating and egg-laying are clearly fertile areas for the origination of new, non-insecticidal strategies.