Spotted Stem Borer vs Pine Shoot Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Spotted Stem Borer Pine Shoot Beetle
Scientific Name Chilo partellus Tomicus piniperda
Order Lepidoptera Coleoptera
Family Crambidae Curculionidae (Scolytinae)
Size 20-28 mm wingspan 3.5–5 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Herbivores Wood Feeders
Regions Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia Europe, Asia, North America
Conservation Not Evaluated Not Evaluated

Spotted Stem Borer

A straw-colored moth whose larvae bore into stems of maize and sorghum in Africa and Asia. It can cause total crop failure in heavily infested fields.

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Did You Know?

The push-pull pest management system, using Desmodium and Napier grass, was developed primarily to combat this borer.

Pine Shoot Beetle

A bark beetle that breeds in pine logs and stumps, then feeds inside live pine shoots. It is an invasive pest in North America.

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Did You Know?

Adults hollow out the centers of pine shoots, causing them to break off in the wind and litter the forest floor.