''Maliarpha separatella'', the African white stemborer, is a species of

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Pyralidae The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyr ...

. A worldwide paddy pest, it is found throughout African countries of

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and many Asian paddy cultivating countries such as

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Though they are reported from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, they are also known to attack

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

Description

The

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

is about 20–30 mm. Palpi of male with second joint hollowed out to receive the brush-like maxillary palpi. Antennae with a sinus at base of shaft containing a ridge of scales. Palpi porrect. Male has rufous head and thorax. Abdomen ochreous. Forewings suffused with rufous, darkest below the broad pale costal fascia, which does not reach apex. Hindwings yellowish white. Female moth is much reddish, with a costal fascia often deeply suffused with red.

Ecology

The larvae feed on various grasses, including ''

Zea mays Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

'', '' Andropogon tectorum'', ''

Oryza ''Oryza'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. It includes the major food crop rice (species '' Oryza sativa'' and '' Oryza glaberrima''). Members of the genus grow as tall, wetland grasses, growing to tall; the genus includes both annua ...

'' species, ''

Saccharum ''Saccharum'' is a genus of tall perennial plants of the broomsedge tribe within the grass family. The genus is widespread across tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions in Africa, Eurasia, Australia, the Americas, and assorted ocean ...

'' sp., and ''

Sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

'' species.

Attack and control

Caterpillars are the major attacking stage. They bore and tunnel in to the tillers and stem and feed on internal tissues and sap. The heavy attack shows small, circular cavities in the stem. This species rarely causes deadhearts or whiteheads. Control can be easy by measures such as stubble rotting, adjusting planting dates and adjusting planting density.

Trap crop A trap is a device used for trapping animals. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * Trap (2015 film), ''Trap'' (2015 film), a Filipino film * Trap (2024 film), ''Trap'' (2024 film), an American film by ...

s are used in southwest Nigeria, and this has been effective. Unlike other paddy pests, biological control of this species is not very effective. This is because the borers spend the larval stage within plant stems. But recent study listed five parasitoids that are effective to the borers; they are, '' Chelonus maudae'', '' Rhacanotus carinafus'', '' Prisfomerus bullis'', '' Prisfomerus caris'' and '' Venturia jordanae''. Chemical control is effective.

References

External links

Sampling egg batches of ''Maliarpha separatella'' RAG. (Lep., Pyralidae) in Madagascan rice fieldsSemiochemicals of ''Maliarpha separatella''Sex pheromone of female African white rice stem borer, ''Maliarpha separatella'' (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) from Sierra Leone: Identification and field testing
{{Authority control Anerastiini Lepidoptera of Cameroon Moths of Madagascar Moths of Réunion Moths of Sub-Saharan Africa Taxa named by Émile Louis Ragonot Moths described in 1888 Insect pests of millets Insect pests of rice