''Bissetia steniellus'' is a
moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
in the family
Crambidae
The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies includ ...
. It was
first described by the British entomologist
George Hampson
Sir George Francis Hampson, 10th Baronet (14 January 1860 – 15 October 1936) was an English entomologist.
Hampson studied at Charterhouse School and Exeter College, Oxford. He travelled to India to become a tea-planter in the Nilgiri Hills o ...
in 1899. It is found in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
where it is commonly known as the Gurdaspur borer because the larvae bore their way into and feed on the stems of
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
.
Description
The adult ''Bissetia steniellus'' has a wingspan of . It is generally drab brown, and there are seven darker brown spots arranged between the veins on the outer margins of the forewings. The larva is creamy-white with four narrow, longitudinal, reddish stripes along the body, and an orange head.
Distribution
''B. steniellus'' is found in India, Pakistan and Vietnam. Its range in India includes the states of
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
,
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
and
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
.
Life cycle
The only known
host
A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it.
Host may also refer to:
Places
* Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County
People
*Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman
* Michel Host ...
plant for ''B. steniellus'' is the sugarcane. The female moth lays a batch of 100 to 300 eggs on the midrib of a sugarcane leaf. The larvae hatch out after about a week and make their way into the stem by drilling holes just above a node. They excavate galleries inside the stem, feeding voraciously. When the cane dries up and the crown of leaves dies in about ten days, the larvae move to a different cane in the vicinity. They feed for three to four weeks, passing through five
instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...
stages, before pupating inside a stem. The adult moths emerge in six to twelve days.
[ The male/female ratio varies between forty and sixty percent in the different generations.][ The whole life cycle lasts about five or six weeks, and there may be two or three generations in each year.][
]
Damage
''B. steniellus'' does varying amounts of damage to sugarcane crops, 25% of the crop sometimes being affected, with 75% damage known in severe cases. Affected plants are best destroyed and stubble cleared at the end of the season. The organochloride
An organochloride, organochlorine compound, chlorocarbon, or chlorinated hydrocarbon is an organic compound containing at least one covalent bond, covalently bonded atom of chlorine. The chloroalkane class (alkanes with one or more hydrogens subst ...
endrin
Endrin is an organochloride with the chemical formula C12H8Cl6O that was first produced in 1950 by Shell and Velsicol Chemical Corporation. It was primarily used as an insecticide, as well as a rodenticide and piscicide. It is a colourless, odorle ...
is effective against the pest but is banned in many countries. The fly
Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...
'' Sturmiopsis inferens'' is a naturally occurring parasitoid
In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...
and its use as a possible biological pest control
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...
agent is being investigated.gold-fringed rice stemborer
''Chilo auricilius'', the gold-fringed rice stemborer or terai borer, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Gerald C. Dudgeon in 1905. It is found in India, Taiwan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, as well as on Sulawesi, Borneo, Sangir Is ...
(''Chilo auricilius'').[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18087091
Haimbachiini
Moths of Asia
Agricultural pest insects
Moths described in 1899
Taxa named by George Hampson