Southwestern corn borer

The southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella, is a moth belonging to the sub-order Heterocera. Like most moths, The southwestern corn borer undergoes complete metamorphosis developing as an egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa and adult. It is capable of entering diapause in its larva stage[1][2] and under the conditions of a precise photoperiod.[3] Growth and development are regulated by juvenile hormones.[4] The southwestern corn borer has an extensive range. It occurs in Mexico and in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas.[5]

Southwestern corn borer
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Crambidae
Genus: Diatraea
Species:
D. grandiosella
Binomial name
Diatraea grandiosella
Dyar, 1911
Life stages, clockwise starting at top: adult moth, non-diapausing (spotted) last-instar larva, diapausing (immaculate) larva, pupa, eggs (laid on wax paper), first-instar larva (above date on coin)
Larval stage

Known host plants of D. grandiosella include sugarcane, forage and grain sorghums, broomcorn, and Johnsongrass, teosinte, and millet well as field corn, popcorn, and sweetcorn.[6] It remains a serious agricultural pest of corn (maize).

Pest control

Infestation is sometimes controlled by the use of pheromone traps that lure adult male moths.[7] The practice of carefully timed planting dates, use of early maturing varieties, and the destruction of crop residues are well-established methods for suppressing populations of borer on many crops.[8] Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterium, is often applied as a pesticide.[9] Chemical pesticides continue to be used for infestation control.[10] Efforts have been underway to breed strains of corn (maize) that are resistant to the southwestern corn borer. The USDA has documented an increase in corn production when genetically engineered corn, resistant to corn borers, was grown in place of non-genetically engineered corn.[11] Under biological control practices, a variety of methods can be used against the borer at one time. This would include the introduction of predators or parasites.[12]

Nocturnal insectivores often feed on moths; these include some bats, some species of owls and other species of birds. Moths are also eaten by some species of lizards, cats, dogs, rodents, and some bears. Moth larvae are vulnerable to being parasitized by Ichneumonidae.

References
  1. The Insects; Structure and Function, 4th Edition. R.F. Chapman, Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-521-57048-4, p 403.
  2. Bulletin of Entomological Research (1976), 66:75-79 Cambridge University Press, Copyright Cambridge University Press 1976, Diapause of the southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella Dyar (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae): effects of a juvenile hormone mimic: G. M. Chippendalea1 and C.-M. Yina1a1, Department of Entomology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65201, U.S.A.
  3. Phenological adaptations of a colonizing insect: The southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella, Journal Oecologia. Publisher Springer Berlin / Heidelberg, ISSN 0029-8549 (Print) 1432-1939 Issue Volume 53, Number 3 / June, 1982 doi:10.1007/BF00389019.
  4. Juvenile hormone regulation of the larval diapause of the Southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella. C.-M. Yina and G.M. Chippendale. Journal of Insect Physiology Volume 19, Issue 12, December 1973, Pages 2403-2420
  5. A Bibliography of the Southwestern Corn Borer, Diatraea grandiosella Dyar (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) Authors: Morrison, W. P.; Mock, D. E.; Stone, J. D.; Whitworth, J. Source: Bulletin of the ESA, Volume 23, Number 3, 15 September 1977, Publisher: Entomological Society of America. pp. 185-190(6)
  6. A Bibliography of the Southwestern Corn Borer, Diatraea grandiosella Dyar (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) Authors: Morrison, W. P.; Mock, D. E.; Stone, J. D.; Whitworth, J. Source: Bulletin of the ESA, Volume 23, Number 3, 15 September 1977, Publisher: Entomological Society of America. pp. 185-190(6)
  7. "Southwestern Corn Borer, (Diatraea grandiosella) Pheromone Lure". Arbico-organics.com. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  8. G. Michael Chippendale1, Department of Entomology, University of Missouri, Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata; Publisher: Springer Netherlands, ISSN 0013-8703 (Print) 1570-7458 (Online) Issue Volume 31, Number 1 / March, 1982, Pages 24-35, Friday, December 5, 200865211 Columbia, Missouri
  9. Aronson AI, Shai Y (2001). "Why Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal toxins are so effective: unique features of their mode of action". FEMS Microbiology Letters. 195 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.2001.tb10489.x. PMID 11166987.
  10. The First Decade of Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States. Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo and Margriet Caswell, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service Electronic Report Economic Information Bulletin, Number 11. April 2006.
  11. The First Decade of Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States. Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo and Margriet Caswell, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service Electronic Report Economic Information Bulletin, Number 11. April 2006. p.6
  12. Bale, F; van Lenteren; Bigler (27 February 2008). "Biological control and sustainable food production". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 363 (1492): 761–776. doi:10.1098/rstb.2007.2182. PMID 17827110.
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