''Chilo infuscatellus'', the yellow top borer or sugarcane shoot borer, 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 described by the Dutch entomologist

Samuel Constantinus Snellen van Vollenhoven Samuel Constant Snellen van Vollenhoven (18 October 1816, Rotterdam – 22 March 1880) was a Dutch entomologist. He is not to be confused with Pieter Cornelius Tobias Snellen another entomologist from Rotterdam. He was curator of the entomologic ...

in 1890. It is found in

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, the

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and on

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and

Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...

Description

The adult moth has a body length of . The hindwings are creamy white with pale, buff tips.

Nature of Damage

** Damage is caused by the Sugarcane yellow stem borer caterpillar which bore cane stalks at the level of the ground and feeds inside the soft tissues going upwards as well as downwards as far as the roots. ** The central whorl of leaves dries and from the characteristic dead heart. ** The peculiarity of the dead heart is that only the Central leaf dries up and other leaves remain green for a long time. ** When a dead heart is pulled out it gives a very offensive smell. The shoot borer caterpillar is a migratory inhabit and after killing one shoot it goes to another and a single caterpillar may destroy three or four shoots.

Host plants

The larvae feed on a number of large plants in the grass family

Poaceae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

; these include

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...

s (''Avena sativa''), citronella grass (''Cymbopogon winterianus''),

Bermuda grass ''Cynodon dactylon'', commonly known as Bermuda grass, is a grass found worldwide. It is native to Europe, Africa, Australia and much of Asia. It has been introduced to the Americas. Although it is not native to Bermuda, it is an abundant invasiv ...

(''Cynodon dactylon''), Java grass (''Cyperus rotundus''), jungle rice (''Echinochloa colona''),

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

(''Hordeum vulgare''),

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

(''Oryza sativa''),

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

(''Panicum''),

pearl millet Pearl millet (''Cenchrus americanus'', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum glaucum''; also known as 'Bajra' in Hindi, 'Sajje' in Kannada, 'Kambu' in Tamil, 'Bajeer' in Kumaoni and 'Maiwa' in Hausa, 'Mexoeira' in Mozambique) is the most w ...

(''Pennisetum glaucum''),

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 ...

(''Saccharum officinarum''),

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

(''

Sorghum bicolor ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a Poaceae, grass species cultivated for its grain, which is used for food for humans, animal feed, and ethan ...

'') and

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

(''Zea mays''). Young larvae eat small holes in the leaves, particularly the leaf sheaths. As they grow, the larvae feed on the tips of the shoots, killing the growing points, and later still, they bore into the stems, creating galleries and producing

frass Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter. Definition and etymology ''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...

which drops from the holes. The stems become brittle and the dead hearts of the plants are characteristic of this pest.

Control

Control of ''Chilo infuscatellus'' in sugar plantations is difficult. The plants are large and occupy the site for two or more years and insecticides are not normally practicable. A number of natural enemies can reduce the damage done by this pest; these include the tiny wasps of the genera ''

Trichogramma ''Trichogramma'' is a genus of minute polyphagous wasps that are endoparasitoids of insect eggs. ''Trichogramma'' is one of around 80 genera from the family Trichogrammatidae, with over 200 species worldwide.Consoli FL, Parra JRP, Zucchi RA (2010 ...

'' and ''

Telenomus ''Telenomus'' is a genus of parasitoid wasps from the subfamily Telenominae. The genus was first described by Alexander Henry Haliday in 1833. Species in this genus parasitise the eggs or immature stages of other insects. Known hosts include : ...

'', the egg parasitoid ''Cotesia flavipes'', the fly '' Sturmiopsis inferens'', various egg predators and the

granulosis virus ''Betabaculovirus'' is a genus of viruses, in the family ''Baculoviridae''. Arthropods serve as natural hosts. There are 26 species in this genus. Taxonomy The following species are assigned to the genus: * '' Adoxophyes orana granulovirus'' * ...

. Destruction of dead plant material at the end of the growing season and the elimination of wild grasses can also be helpful. Adjusting planting dates and various cultural techniques have been used with varying degrees of success.

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 ...

through introduction of

tachinid The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in this family ...

flies from Africa and the Caribbean has been attempted, but those flies have failed to become established. Another

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 ...

of this moth in India and it has been successfully used as a biological control agent. ''Trichogramma'' species have also been released experimentally but the results have been variable and inconsistent. Other integrated pest control methods that have met with success include spraying the crop with

, releasing '' Trichogramma chilonis'', releasing ''Cotesia flavipes'' and mechanical control with removal and destruction of egg masses. By these means the incidence of the pest can be reduced to a low level.

Intercropping Intercropping is a multiple cropping practice that involves growing two or more crops in proximity. In other words, intercropping is the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field. The most common goal of intercropping is ...

can be part of an integrated pest management plan, with the sugarcane pest's natural enemies being attracted by the planting of such crops as

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as '' Fago ...

, the flowers of which provide nectar to the adult parasitic insects and increase their fitness to breed. Good results have been obtained from intercropping sugarcane with

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...

okra Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with su ...

coriander Coriander (;

and

green bean Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean (''Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis ...

s, all of which proved attractive to the egg parasitoids and reduced prevalence of ''C. infuscatellus''. Arvinth et al 2010 insert Cry1Ab along with a very constitutive promoter – the maize polyubiquitin promoter – to protect against ''C. infuscatellus''. They use both the Arencibia et al 1988 ''Agrobacterium'' technique and a

gene gun In genetic engineering, a gene gun or biolistic particle delivery system is a device used to deliver exogenous DNA (transgenes), RNA, or protein to cells. By coating particles of a heavy metal with a gene of interest and firing these micro-projec ...

process. Both techniques produced effective protection against the pest but the ''Agrobacterium'' transformants were superior.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13463116 Chiloini Moths described in 1890 Taxa named by Samuel Constantinus Snellen van Vollenhoven Insect pests of millets