Bissetia steniellus

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Bissetia steniellus
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Crambidae
Subfamily: Crambinae
Tribe: Haimbachiini
Genus: Bissetia
Species:
B. steniellus
Binomial name
Bissetia steniellus
(Hampson, 1899)
Synonyms
  • Acigona steniellusHampson, 1899 [1]
  • Chilo steniellusHampson, 1899
  • Chilo griseoradiansde Joannis, 1930
  • Chilo trypetesBisset, 1939

Bissetia steniellus is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was first described by the British entomologist George Hampson in 1899. It is found in India and Vietnam where it is commonly known as the Gurdaspur borer because the larvae bore their way into and feed on the stems of sugarcane. [2]

Contents

Description

The adult Bissetia steniellus has a wingspan of 25 to 45 mm (1.0 to 1.8 in). 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. [3]

Distribution

B. steniellus is found in India, Pakistan and Vietnam. Its range in India includes the states of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. [4]

Life cycle

The only known 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 stages, before pupating inside a stem. The adult moths emerge in six to twelve days. [4] The male/female ratio varies between forty and sixty percent in the different generations. [1] The whole life cycle lasts about five or six weeks, and there may be two or three generations in each year. [4]

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 endrin is effective against the pest but is banned in many countries. The fly Sturmiopsis inferens is a naturally occurring parasitoid and its use as a possible biological pest control agent is being investigated. [5] It has proved possible to rear the fly in the laboratory and release it in sugarcane plantations. In the March to June hot season, the fly mainly targets the sugarcane shoot borer (Chilo infuscatellus) and the pink borer (Sesamia inferens). In the monsoon period, July to October, it shifts to B. steniellus. Finally, between November and January, it targets the gold-fringed rice stemborer (Chilo auricilius). [3]

Related Research Articles

Crambidae Family of moths

The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies include brightly coloured and patterned insects which rest in wing-spread attitudes.

Pearl millet Species of cultivated grass

Pearl millet is the most widely grown type of millet. It has been grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times. The center of diversity, and suggested area of domestication, for the crop is in the Sahel zone of West Africa. Recent archaeobotanical research has confirmed the presence of domesticated pearl millet on the Sahel zone of northern Mali between 2500 and 2000 BC.

<i>Echinochloa frumentacea</i> Species of grass

Echinochloa frumentacea is a species of Echinochloa. Both Echinochloa frumentacea and E. esculenta are called Japanese millet. This millet is widely grown as a cereal in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Its wild ancestor is the tropical grass Echinochloa colona, but the exact date or region of domestication is uncertain. It is cultivated on marginal lands where rice and other crops will not grow well. The grains are cooked in water, like rice, or boiled with milk and sugar. Sometimes it is fermented to make beer. While also being part of staple diet for some communities in India, these seeds are, in particular, eaten during religious fasting. For this reason, these seeds are commonly also referred to as "vrat ke chawal" in Hindi. Other common names to identify these seeds include oodalu (ಊದಲು) in Kannada, Shyamak (শ্যামাক) or Shyama Chal in Bangla, jhangora in the Garhwal Hills, bhagar (भगर) in Marathi-speaking areas, samo or morio seeds in Gujerati, or kuthiraivaali (குதிரைவாளி) in Tamil.

<i>Chilo suppressalis</i> Species of moth

Chilo suppressalis, the Asiatic rice borer or striped rice stemborer, is a moth of the family Crambidae. It is a widespread species, known from India, Sri Lanka, China, eastern Asia, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia to the Pacific.

<i>Chilo terrenellus</i> Species of moth

Chilo terrenellus, the sugarcane borer, is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. It was described by Arnold Pagenstecher in 1900 and is found in Papua New Guinea and islands in the Torres Strait.

<i>Eldana</i> Genus of moths

Eldana is a genus of moths of the family Pyralidae containing only one species, the African sugar-cane borer, which is commonly found in Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and South Africa. Adults have pale brown forewings with two small spots in the centre and light brown hindwings, and they have a wingspan of 35mm. This species is particularly relevant to humans because the larvae are a pest of the Saccharum species as well as several grain crops such as sorghum and maize. Other recorded host plants are cassava, rice and Cyperus species. When attacking these crops, E. saccharina bores into the stems of their host plant, causing severe damage to the crop. This behavior is the origin of the E. saccharrina's common name, the African sugar-cane borer. The African sugar-cane borer is a resilient pest, as it can survive crop burnings. Other methods such as intercropping and parasitic wasps have been employed to prevent further damage to crops.

<i>Sesamia inferens</i> Species of moth

Sesamia inferens, the Asiatic pink stem borer, gramineous stem borer, pink borer, pink rice borer, pink rice stem borer, pink stem borer, purple borer, purple stem borer or purplish stem borer, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1856. It is found from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar to Japan and the Solomon Islands. A polyphagous species, it is a major pest in many crops worldwide.

<i>Chilo sacchariphagus</i> Species of moth

Chilo sacchariphagus, the spotted borer, is a moth of the family Crambidae. It was described by Wenceslas Bojer in 1856 and was originally found in South and South-East Asia, where there are three subspecies:

<i>Ostrinia furnacalis</i> Species of moth

Ostrinia furnacalis is a species of moth in the family Crambidae, the grass moths. It was described by Achille Guenée in 1854 and is known by the common name Asian corn borer since this species is found in Asia and feeds mainly on corn crop. The moth is found from China to Australia, including in Java, Sulawesi, the Philippines, Borneo, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Micronesia. The Asian corn borer is part of the species complex, Ostrinia, in which members are difficult to distinguish based on appearance. Other Ostrinia such as O. orientalis, O. scapulalis, O. zealis, and O. zaguliaevi can occur with O. furnacalis, and the taxa can be hard to tell apart.

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 Island and the Moluccas. The larvae bore into and feed on the stems of various grass family plants including sugarcane, rice and maize.

Chilo infuscatellus, the yellow top borer or sugarcane shoot borer, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by the Dutch entomologist Samuel Constantinus Snellen van Vollenhoven in 1890. It is found in India, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and on Java and Timor.

Chilo partellus, the spotted stalk borer or spotted stem borer, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Charles Swinhoe in 1885. It is found in India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and on Mayotte.

Scirpophaga excerptalis, the white top borer or sugarcane top borer, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1863. It is found in southern Asia from the Indian Subcontinent in the west to southern China in the east, south to New Guinea, possibly Australia and the Solomon Islands.

Scirpophaga nivella is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1794. It is found in southern Asia from the Indian Subcontinent in the west to southern China in the east, south to New Guinea and Australia, including New Caledonia and Fiji. Some sources have affixed the common name "sugarcane top borer" to it, despite it not being found in sugarcane, because they are confused with the species Scirpophaga excerptalis, which is an actual borer in the tops of sugarcane. Another newer common name that has been invented for these moths is "white rice borer".

Epiricania melanoleuca is a moth in the family Epipyropidae. It was described by Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher in 1939. It is found in India, where its larvae are external parasitoids of the sugarcane planthopper. It has been used in biological pest control against this pest.

Sturmiopsis inferens is a species of fly in the family Tachinidae. It is native to Asia and is a parasitoid of various moth species whose larvae feed inside the stems of sugarcane, rice and other large grasses, including the Gurdaspur borer and the sugarcane shoot borer.

Sesamia calamistis, the African pink stem borer, is a moth of the family Noctuidae.

References

  1. 1 2 Mehia, M.; Singh, D. & Jaipal, S. (2003). "Bionomics of gurdaspur borer Acigona steniellus on sugarcane in Haryana". FAO. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  2. ↑ Nuss, M.; et al. (2003–2014). "GlobIZ search". Global Information System on Pyraloidea. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 Babu, C.N. (1990). Sugar Cane. Allied Publishers. pp. 193–194. ISBN   978-81-7023-260-5.
  4. 1 2 3 Shukla, G. S. & Upadhyay, V. B. (2007). Economic Zoology. Rastogi Publications. pp. 104–105. ISBN   978-81-7133-876-4.
  5. ↑ Srikanth, J.; Salin, K.P.; Kurup, N.K. & Bai, K. Subadra (2009). "Assessment of the tachinid Sturmiopsis inferens as a natural and applied biological control agent of sugarcane shoot borer (Chilo infuscatellus) in southern India". Sugar Technology. 11 (1): 51–59. doi:10.1007/s12355-009-0009-5. S2CID   25193029.
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