''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 Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the othe ...

. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1856. It is found from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

to Japan and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its ca ...

. A polyphagous species, it is a major pest in many crops worldwide.

Description

Its wingspan is about 28 mm. Hindwings with veins 3 and 4 from arise from the cell. Antennae of male ciliated and simple in female. Body ochreous. Forewings with a red-brown suffusion along median nervure and veins 2 to 5. A sub-marginal dark line present. Cilia paler. Hindwings are whitish. Larva smooth and shiny and lack obvious hairs or markings. Color variable but usually cream white with a distinctive pink suffusion. The head and prothoracic shield are brown. The dorsal part of the last abdominal segment bearing the anus is yellowish brown. Mature larvae are between 30–40 mm long, pink with buff and pink dorsal markings and a brown head. Pupae are up to about 18 mm long, brown to yellowish-brown with a wrinkled frontal region of the head and cremaster with four large and two small spines.

Ecology

The larvae mostly feed on

Gramineae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

species, including '' Coix'', ''

Echinochloa ''Echinochloa'' is a very widespread genus of plants in the grass family and tribe Paniceae. Some of the species are known by the common names barnyard grass or cockspur grass. Some of the species within this genus are millets that are grown ...

'', ''

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 annual a ...

'', ''

Panicum ''Panicum'' (panicgrass) is a large genus of about 450 species of grasses native throughout the tropical regions of the world, with a few species extending into the northern temperate zone. They are often large, annual or perennial grasses, grow ...

'', ''

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 ocea ...

'', ''

Setaria ''Setaria'' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family. The name is derived from the Latin word ''seta'', meaning "bristle" or "hair", which refers to the bristly spikelets. The genus includes over 100 species distributed in many tr ...

'', ''

Triticum Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

'', '' Zea'' and ''

Zizania Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...

''. Many of the food plants are of economic importance.

Symptoms

The caterpillars mainly bore into rice stems or the base of the panicle. After infection, the stem becomes wilted causing deadheart. Panicle attack leads to panicle to be cut leading to state called whitehead. Symptoms are mostly similar to other stem borers and hence closer look required to control the attack.

Control

Mechanical controlling using hand picking and

pheromone trap A pheromone trap is a type of insect trap that uses pheromones to lure insects. Sex pheromones and aggregating pheromones are the most common types used. A pheromone-impregnated lure, as the red rubber septa in the picture, is encased in a convent ...

s are used. Cultural practices like crop rotation mechanisms, reducing water levels are also used in controlling. Natural enemies such as parasitoides are very effective and nature loving controlling measures. The tachinid fly ''

Sturmiopsis inferens ''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 bor ...

'' was also once used, but is now not effective due to their low abundance. In chemical control, BHC,

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

fenthion Fenthion is an organothiophosphate insecticide, avicide, and acaricide. Like most other organophosphates, its mode of action is via cholinesterase inhibition. Due to its relatively low toxicity towards humans and mammals, fenthion is listed as ...

fenitrothion Fenitrothion (IUPAC name: ''O'',''O''-dimethyl ''O''-(3-methyl-4-nitrophenyl) phosphorothioate) is a phosphorothioate (organophosphate) insecticide that is inexpensive and widely used worldwide. Trade names include ''Sumithion'', a 94.2% soluti ...

quinalphos Quinalphos is an organothiophosphate chemical chiefly used as a pesticide. It is a reddish-brown liquid. The chemical formula is C12H15N2O3PS, and IUPAC name ''O'',''O''-diethyl ''O''-quinoxalin-2-yl phosphorothioate. Ranked 'moderately hazardous' ...

phosphamidon Phosphamidon is an organophosphate insecticide first reported in 1960. It acts as a cholinesterase inhibitor. The commercial product typically exists as a mixture of 70% (''Z'')-isomer and 30% (''E'')-isomer. Toxicity and regulation Phospham ...

sprays and granules of

lindane Lindane, also known as ''gamma''-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH), gammaxene, Gammallin and benzene hexachloride (BHC), is an organochlorine chemical and an isomer of hexachlorocyclohexane that has been used both as an agricultural insecticide and ...

are used. Eggs can be eliminated by introducing ''

Trichogramma minutum ''Trichogramma'' is a genus of minute polyphagous wasps that are endoparasitoids of insect eggs. ''Trichogramma'' is one of around 80 genera from the family Trichogrammatidae, with over 200 species worldwide.Consoli FL, Parra JRP, Zucchi RA (2010 ...

'' and '' Telenomeus'' species. ''

Apanteles flavipes ''Apanteles'' is a very large genus of braconid wasps, containing more than 600 described species found worldwide. There are no native species in New Zealand, and none have been recorded in the high arctic. See also * List of Apanteles species ...

'', ''

Bracon chinensis Bracon is a hamlet in North Lincolnshire, England. Bracon lies within the Isle of Axholme and the civil parish of Belton, a village to the north to which the hamlet is conjoined. Villages in the Borough of North Lincolnshire { ...

'' and ''

'' are effective against caterpillars, whereas '' Xanthopinpla'' species and ''

Tetrastichus aygari ''Tetrastichus'' is a genus of hymenopteran insects of the family Eulophidae. '' Tetrastichus planipennisi'' is a parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), ho ...

'' are used in pupal stages.

References

External links

Distribution and Insecticide Resistance of ''Sesamia inferens''
* * * *
Semiochemicals of ''Sesamia inferens''
* * *
Differential preference of maize genotypes to ''Sesamia inferens''The Complete Mitochondrial Genome of the Pink Stem Borer, ''Sesamia inferens'', in Comparison with Four Other Noctuid Moths
*
Growth Stage Preference of Pink Stem Borer ''Sesamia inferens''Study the egg laying pattern of ''Sesamia inferens''
* {{Taxonbar , from=Q7456016 Hadeninae Moths of Japan Insect pests of millets Moths described in 1856