Ostrinia furnacalis

Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée, 1854)
Asian Corn Borer
(one synonym: Botys damoalis Walker, 1859)
PYRAUSTINI, PYRAUSTINAE, CRAMBIDAE, PYRALOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Ostrinia furnacalis
(Photo: courtesy of Maize Genome Project, University of Missouri)

This Caterpillar is an international pest. It has been found feeding on:

Pigweed ( Amaranthus, AMARANTHACEAE ),

Maize ( Zea mays, POACEAE ),

Rhubarb ( Rheum rhabarbarum, POLYGONACEAE ), and

Eastern Cottonwood ( Populus deltoides, SALICACEAE ).

(Photo: courtesy of Maize Genome Project, University of Missouri)

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.

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

The species has been found in

Guam,

Papua New Guinea,

Philippines, and

Taiwan,

as well as in Australia in

Australian Capital Territory, and

Victoria.

Attempts to control the pest include:

keeping the product in an inert atmosphere, such as Nitrogen or Carbon Dioxide,

keeping the product in the freezer below -5 Centigrade,

detasseling maize,

intercropping with Legumes and Sweet Potatoes,

insecticides,

the breeding of resistant Maize cultivars,

use of Neem extract, and

natural parasites of this species, such as the egg parasite wasps Trichogramma species, earwigs (Euborellia annulata), flower bugs (Orius tantillus), and lady beetles.