Asian Corn Borer (one synonym: Botys damoalis Walker, 1859) PYRAUSTINI, PYRAUSTINAE, CRAMBIDAE, PYRALOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
Maize Genome Project, University of Missouri)
This Caterpillar is an international pest. It has been found feeding on:
The young instars only feed on the leaves. When it reaches the fourth instar it bores into the stem. In due course, it pupates inside the tunnel which it has bored.
The adult moth is brown with darker zigzag lines and a fuzzy dark spot on each forewing. It has a wingspan of about 3 cms. The pheromones of the species have been determined. The moths also use ultrasonic sounds in their courtship.
The species has been found in
as well as in Australia in
Attempts to control the pest include:
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 9.37, pp. 66, 357.
Achille Guenée, in Boisduval & Guenée,
Botydae,
Histoire naturelle des insectes; spécies général des lépidoptères,
Volume 8 (1854), p. 332, No. 368.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(updated 19 July 2010, 29 December 2020)