| Banana Stem Borer (Telchin licus (Drury, 1773)) |
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Scientific name: Telchin licus (Drury, 1773) Common name: Banana Stem Borer Other names: Giant Sugarcane Borer French name: Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Heterocera Family: Castniidae Subfamily: Castniinae Wingspan: 128-160 mm. Biotope: Geographic area: South America, north from Colombia and Venezuela down to south of the Amazon Basin in Brazil and Peru. Introduced to Hawaii. Flight time: Number of generations : Caterpillar: The caterpillars grow inside the heart of the stems of the host plants. The nymphosis occurs at the base of the plant inside a shelter among roots. Host plant: Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum), Banana Trees (Musa sp), Heliconia sp and Ischnosiphon sp. |
The antennae of Heterocera of the Castniidae family have clubbed-tip like antennae of Rhopalocera. The Banana Stem Borer has brown wings. The fore wings are crossed by a white diagonal band. You can see another slightly curved white band, sometimes more diffuse and sometimes resembling an alignment of spots, between the previously described band and the apex of the wing. The hind wings are crossed by a white band running from the middle of the costal edge and widening to the anal angle. There are orange or reddish spots next to the margin of the hind wings. The middle spots are a larger size. Telchin licus is considered as an important pest for Sugar Cane plantations in Brazil. |
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I have shot this picture on the peninsula of Cayenne while walking along the Montabo footpath. |
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Adjusting exposure parameters is not an easy task with such a subject showing a rather dark ground colour and a bright white band on the hind wings. |
André Bon January 2014