Chilo suppressalis (Walker, 1863)
Striped Rice Borer
(one synonym : Jartheza simplex Butler, 1880)
CRAMBINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


(Photo: courtesy of Probodelt, Tarragona, Spain)

These Caterpillars are pests. The caterpillars bore into the stems of various plants in POACEAE, uncluding:

  • Rice ( Oryza sativa ).
  • Maize ( Zea mays ), and
  • Sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor ).

    The caterpillars are pale yellow, with five dim longitudinal lines. The caterpillars grow to a length of about 2.5 cms.


    (Photo: courtesy of Department d'Agricultura, Ramdeira, y Pesca,
    Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain)

    They pupate in their borehole, in a stem of their food plant.


    (Photos: courtesy of Brian Cartwright, Adelaide Hills, South Australia)

    The forewings of the adult moths vary in colour from white to pale brown, each with one or more dark spots. The hindwings are white. The moths have a wingspan of about 2.5 cms. The female moths are somewhat larger than the males.


    (Photo: courtesy of the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

    Eggs are pale yellow, and laid in overlapping rows of about 100.


    (Photo: courtesy of K.E. Mueller, International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Philippines)

    The species occurs around the world, including :

  • China,
  • India,
  • Japan,
  • Mozambique,
  • Philippines,
  • Spain,
  • Taiwan,
  • USA,

  • Northern Territory,
  • New South Wales, and
  • South Australia.

    Control of the pest is being attempted using :

  • the wasp : Cotesia flavipes ( BRACONIDAE ),
  • various agrobiologicals, and
  • pheromone traps.


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pp. 66, 351.

    Francis Walker,
    Crambites & Tortricites,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 27 (1863), p. 166, No. 108.


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    (updated 9 March 2011, 16 December 2017)