Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Arctiidae, Agrotidae, and Pyralidae of Guam
Author
Swezey, O. H.
Experiment Station Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association, Honolulu
text
1946
1942-12-20
Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 189
Honolulu, Hawaii
Insects of Guam II
163
185
book chapter
http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5165313
058b438a-ffe3-452b-a286-9267419b3014
5165313
42.
Pyraustanubilalis
(Hiibner)
.
Pyralis nubilalis
Hubner
,
Zutr. Samml. Eur. Schm., Pyr.
14:
Sechste Horde,
24
, 14, fig. 94,
1796
.
Pyrausta nubilalis,
Meyrick
,
Handbook Brit. Lep
.,
416
,
1895
;
Hampson
,
Fauna Brit.
India
, Moths
4
:
435
,
1896
;
Caffrey
and
Worthley
,
U. S.
Dept. Agric., Bull.
1476
:
1-154
, 1,927
;
Briggs
,
Guam
Agr. Expt. Sta. Rept.
(1920),
39
,
1921
;
Vandenberg
,
Guam
Agr. Expt. Sta. Rept.
(1930-32),
20
,
1933
.
Tumon
,
May 30
;
Ypan
,
June 8
;
Libugon
,
June 24
;
Machanao
,
June 30
,
Aug. 6
;
Piti
,
Aug. 26
,
Sept. 4
,
15;
Barrigada
,
Aug. 28.
All
collected or reared by
Swezey
.
Three
specimens
in
U. S.
National Museum
and one in
Bishop Museum
,
Fullaway
, 1911.
This moth is the notorious European corn borer, which has become widespread in the
United States
during the past 20 years. Its distribution is throughout central and southern Europe,
Egypt
, west-central and northern Asia, northern
India
, Siberia,
Japan
,
Philippines
, and
Guam
.
The first record of it in
Guam
was by
Fullaway
in 1911 under the name
Pyrausta
vastatrix
,
given by
Schultze in Manila
, a name which was later recognized as a synonym.
It
became a very serious pest in
Guam
, and by 1920 was reported damaging SO percent of the corn crop in some regions. Parasite introduction was attempted in 1926 to 1931. Several kinds of parasites were imported. In 1936 we found that a tachinid,
Lydella stabulans
var.
grisescens
Robineau Desvoidy, was established and so efficient that very little damage was done to the corn crop by the European corn borer. Whenever we found corn borer larvae in corn stalks, usually SO to 100 percent of them were parasitized. Often in examining the corn borer burrows in corn stalks, the puparia of the parasite would be found, usually one or two and occasionally three per burrow. This tachinid was introduced from
Japan
by Vandenberg in 1931. At first it was known in
Guam
reports as
Masicera senilis
,
later as
Ceronwsia lepida
.
In subsequent studies of it, experts in the
Tachinidae
settled on the n~me
Lydella stabulans
var.
grisescens
.
One other parasite,
Cremastus flavoorbitalis
(Cameron))
, introduced from
Japan
by Vandenberg in 1931 became established in
Guam
. I reared it from several species of leafroller moths, but not from the corn borer.