sugarcane borer

noun

1. the larva of the pyralid moth, Diatraea saccharalis, a serious pest of sugarcane, corn, rice, and sorghums.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sugarcane borer¹

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

Example Sentences

When a wholesale application of heptachlor was made to the farmlands in Louisiana in 1957, the result was the unleashing of one of the worst enemies of the sugarcane crop — the sugarcane borer.

From Literature

The corn borer and the sugarcane borer are also being tested.

From Literature

Once hatched and grown, the insects inject their own eggs into those of the sugarcane borer - a moth that in its caterpillar stage eats valuable plants - preventing the pest from hatching.

From BBC