Yellow stem borer

The male and female yellow stem borer moths differ in appearance. The male is light brown with numerous small brownish dots, five along the subterminal area and eight or nine near the tip of the fore wing. The female is straw-colored, becoming darker toward the tip, and has a very distinct black spot in the center of each fore wing. The hind wings are pale and straw-colored.

The disc-like eggs are laid in oval batches and are covered with a mat of tan anal hairs from the female moth.

The larvae have a small orange heads. This stem borer gets its name from its pale, hairless yellow body. The larva is over wintering stage in temperate regions. The pupae are elongated and yellow-white.

Plant hosts. The larva feeds only on rice and related wild rices.

Distinguishing characteristics

√ Egg masses are laid near leaf tips and are covered with hair.

√ Only one larva occurs in a stem

√ The pupae are found at the extreme base of the plant, often bellow the soil.

√ The yellow stem borer is most abundant in aquatic habits where flooding occurs and in place where multiple rice crops are grown annually. Larvae seal entrance hole with silk to make stem watertight.