Sesamia grisescens

Sesamia grisescens
Female, dorsal view
Male, dorsal view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Sesamia
Species:	S. grisescens
Binomial name
Sesamia grisescens Warren, 1911[1]

The Pink sugarcane borer, Pink stalk borer, Shoot borer, Sugarcane borer or Ramu shoot borer (Sesamia grisescens) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found in Papua New Guinea, Seram, the Moluccas and New Britain.^[2]

Female, ventral view

Male, ventral view

The larvae are a pest on Saccharum officinarum, although they also feed on other plants, including Saccharum robustum, Saccharum spontaneum, Saccharum edule, Pennisetum purpureum and Panicum maximum. First instar larvae mine the inner surface of the leaf sheath before boring into the terminal internodes of the stalk. The gregarious early instars feed on the internode tissue. Later, the larvae migrate to the upper three or four internodes of adjacent undamaged stalks where large tunnels are mined. Several days prior to pupation, the larvae cut large exit holes through the stalk rind and retreat into the tunnel to pupate. There are a total of sevel larval instars.^[3]

References

1. Sesamia at funet
2. PaDIL
3. Life History And Biology Of Sesamza Grzsescens Walker (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), A Sugarcane Borer In Papua New Guinea