Description
Adult
Wingspan of 30-40 mm. Forewings grey to yellowish, marked with a marginal band and small rounded spots. Hindwings are uniformly white.
Larvae
Final instars reach 30-40 mm in length. Body colour variable ranging from yellowish to brownish, rust coloured dorsally.
Eggs
Grooved and whitish in colour, becoming creamy pink with age. Laid in small batches beneath leaf sheaths.
Distribution
Africa, southern Europe and the Middle East.
Economic Host(s)
Rice, maize, sorghum, sugarcane
Symptoms/Signs
Larvae rarely feed on the outer leaves, preferring to bore into stems to feed within galleries that become filled with frass. Stem feeding by the larvae results in the death of growing points, dead hearts, stem breakage and wilting of leaves. Larvae also feed on flowers and fruits of some hosts.
Generations:
2-4 (depending on temperatures)