Chilo tumidicostalis

stated that the relative importance of different sugarcane moth borer species changed
from country to country and they were diversed in numbers and usually of limited
geographical distribution.
Pitaksa and Prachuabmoh (1989) stated that Chilo tumidicostalis (Hampson)
damage on sugarcane during elongation stage at Sam Chuk, Song Phi Nong and
U Thong, Suphan Buri, were 0.68, 3.94 and 1.98 percent respectively. At Ban Bung,
Chon Buri damage was 1.00 percent and at Tha Muang, Kanchanaburi damage was
1.18 percent.
Pitaksa (1999) reported that Chilo tumidicostalis was the most serious pest of
sugarcane and reported that the adult female usually laid egg linearly along the leaves.
The duration periods of egg, larval, pupa and adult stages were 9, 25-30, 7-10 and 3-5
days, respectively, and the total life cycle was 46-49 days, and the average number of
eggs emerging in the field was 96.96 percent. Chilo infuscatellus,
Chilo sacchariphagus and Sesamia inferens have been the key pest species and heavy
damage occurs in many areas of sugarcane plantation (Suasa-ard, 1982).
Chilo tumidicostalis is generally a minor pest, but in the last few years this species has
been the most important pest species and has risen to outbreak status in some areas
such as in the northeast of Thailand. In some areas of Sa Kaew and Buri Rum
provinces, 100 percent of stalks have been infested. The biological studies of
Chilo tumidicostalis revealed that the adult is nocturnal in habit and mating occurs at
dusk. The adults are slender body moths, measuring 16.28±4.32 mm from the head to
the tip of forewing. The general color of forewings is brown to pale brown with some
darker marking. Hindwings are white in female and dirty white to light brown in
male. The longevity of adult is about 5 to 7 days. Eggs are laid in batches on both
sides of leaf blades. Individual egg is oval-shaped, flat and overlaps each other. The
individual egg measures 1.4±0.24 mm in diameter. The larva is creamy white with
big dark spots on the body and a dark brown head. Larvae prefer to feed on time
before pupation. The larval period is 26.4±2.46 days. The pupa period is 7.5±1.15
days. The total life cycle is 43.21 days (Suasa-ard and Allsopp, 2000).
The species complexes of moth borers vary in various sugarcane growing
areas of the country and damage occurred in many areas of sugarcane plantation. The
sugarcane moth borers Chilo infuscatellus Snellen (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), Chilo
sacchariphagus (Bojer) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), Chilo tumidicostalis (Hampson)
(Lepidoptera: Pyralidea) and Sesamia inferens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) are
the most important pests of cane in Afghanistan, Korea, India, Indonesia, Pakistan,
Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Vietnam. This cane-borer complex causes
economic damage in every cane-growing area in Thailand. Infestations occur yearround
but are heaviest on the young cane shoots and in the mature plants. There are
many parasites and predators of sugarcane moth borers in Thailand. Among the
parasites, Cotesia flavipes (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is considered the
most effective, playing an important role in the biological control of these cane borers
in Thailand (Suasa-ard and Allsopp, 2000).
In Taiwan, Anonymous (1928) and Chen and Hung (1975) reported that there
were seven species of sugarcane moth borers. They stated that biological control was
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