UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 





BULLETIN No. 746 



Contribution from the Bureau of Entomology 

 L. O. HOWARD, Chief 





Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



April 18, 1919 



THE SUGAR-CANE MOTH BORER. 1 



By T. E. Holloway and U. 0. Loftin, 2 

 Entomological Assistants, Southern Field-Crop Insect Investigations. 



With Technical Descriptions by Carl Heinrich. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introduction 1 



Character of injury to sugar cane 2 



Estimate of losses 2 



History 7 



Distribution 9 



Species of Diatraea 10 



Food plants 12 



Summary of life cycle 12 



Page. 



Description of stages in life cycle 12 



Insectary methods 18 



Life history 19 



Seasonal history 28 



Natural control 35 



Repression 42 



Recommendations 62 



Bibliography 63 



INTRODUCTION. 



For the information of those who are not familiar with sugar cane, 

 especially as grown in the United States, it may be said that the 

 plant is a giant grass known botanically as Saccharum ofjicinarum 



1 Diatraea smccharalis cramMdoides Grote ; order Lepidoptera, family Pyralidae. 



2 The writers acknowledge their indebtedness to Dr. W. D. Hunter for his interest and 

 direction, and for the suggestions of Dr. W. Dwight Pierce and Mr. D. L. "Van Dine, 

 of the Bureau of Entomology. The tables and charts for life -history were made under 

 Dr. Pierce's supervision. The active cooperation of the Louisiana Sugar Experiment 

 Station at Audubon Park, New Orleans, has been of the highest value, credit especially 

 being due to Mr. W. G. Taggart, assistant director, for his suggestions concerning the 

 practical application of methods of control. Mr. S. G. Chiquelin, the former assistant 

 director, cooperated in the work and later made valuable suggestions concerning locali- 

 ties in Cuba where parasites could be obtained. Laboratory space was furnished gratis 

 by the Louisiana Experiment Station, and the writers thank Prof. W. R. Dodson, director, 

 for his many courtesies. 



For the technical descriptions of the larva and pupa stages of the insect, the writers 

 thank Mr. Carl Heinrich, of the Bureau of Entomology. 



The writers have had the assistance in held and laboratory work of Mr. Ernest R. 

 Barber and others. Valuable cooperation was maintained with Mr. George N. Wolcott, 

 formerly entomologist of the Insular Experiment Station of Porto Rico and later for a 

 short time connected with this investigation. Prof. J. T. Crawley, formerly director, and 

 Prof. P. P. Cardin, entomologist, of the Cuba Experiment Station at Santiago de las Vegas, 

 have been of material assistance in connection with the introduction of the parasitic flies 

 from Cuba. Mr. Edward Foster, of the office of the State entomologist of Louisiana, has 

 assisted with bibliographical and other information. 



The drawings were made by Mr. Harry Bradford, of the Bureau of Entomology. 

 83363°— 19— Bull. 746 1 



