''Diatraea crambidoides'', the southern cornstalk borer moth, is a species of

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 ...

of 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 ...

described by

Augustus Radcliffe Grote Augustus Radcliffe Grote (February 7, 1841 – September 12, 1903) was a British entomologist who described over 1,000 species of butterflies and moths.Osborn, H. 1937. Fragments of Entomological History. Columbus, OH: Published by the author ...

in 1880. It is found in North America, from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

and northern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Its

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

is 15–40 mm, and adults are straw colored to dull white. The forewings are slightly darker than the hindwings. There are two generations per year. The larvae feed on '' Zea mays'', ''

Tripsacum dactyloides ''Tripsacum dactyloides'', commonly called eastern gamagrass, or Fakahatchee grass, is a warm-season, sod-forming bunch grass. It is widespread in the Western Hemisphere, native from the eastern United States to northern South America.

'' and '' Sorghum'' species. Young larvae feed within the plant whorl. They also tunnel in the midribs of leaves, and sometimes destroy growing points within leaf whorls. As larvae grow larger they tunnel into the stalks. Full-grown larvae are about 25 mm long. The winter form is creamy yellow with a dark brown head. The summer form is milky white and covered with black spots. The species overwinters in the larval stage within cavities in corn taproots. Summer pupation occurs in the portion of the stalk which is above the ground. Pupation of the hibernating generation occurs in the base of the stalk or in large roots.

References

Moths described in 1880 Chiloini {{Chiloini-stub