Pyralidae 



The ravages of the insect are not confined to the sugar-cane. 

 It attacks with equal avidity sorghum and the stalks of the com- 

 mon Indian corn, or maize. The insect has gradually worked its 

 way northward from the region of the Gulf, having found lodg- 

 ment here and there throughout the Southern States, and is now 

 known to occur quite abundantly at times as far north as Mary- 

 land. It is double-brooded in Virginia. 



The most serious damage is inflicted upon the crop where 

 the larvae attack young stalks. Plants which are older and well 



established, though 

 they may suffer to 

 some extent from the 

 insects, are generally 

 not damaged suffi- 

 ciently to prevent the 

 maturing and harden- 

 ing of the grain; but 

 where the stalks are 

 young and quite ten- 

 der, they fail to mature, 

 are stunted, sicken, and 

 ultimately die. The 

 accompanying figure 

 shows the dwarfed 

 and sickly appearance 

 of such a stalk, which 

 has been invaded by 

 the borer. The life- 

 history of the insect 

 has been briefly given 

 by Howard as follows : 

 " In early spring the 

 parent moth lays her 

 eggs upon the young 

 cane near the axils, and 

 the young borer pene- 

 trates the stalk at or 

 near the joint, and commences to tunnel, usually upward, through 

 the soft pith. The larval growth is rapid, and the borer is active, 



404 



Fig. 224. D. saccharalis. a, appearance of 

 corn-stalk infested by larva; b, stalk cut open to 

 show larval tunnel and pupa. (After Howard, 

 "Insect Life," Vol. IV, p. 99.) 



