Mukunthan, N., & Nirmala, R. 2002 New insect pests of sugarcane in India.. Sugar Tech 4(3/4): 157-159.

Notes: Five new insects were observed infesting sugarcane in Kannur, Kerala, and Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. The leaf miner Aphanisticus aeneus was found feeding on various Saccharum spp.; however, S. sinense seemed to be the least preferred. A Chrysonotomyia sp., among 14 parasitoids, was found parasitizing the pupae of A. aeneus. Beetles of the leaf scraper Callispa vittata fed on S. barberi, S. officinarum, S. robustum and S. sinense Indian and exotic hybrids, and Indo-American clones. Accessions with pubescent or purple lamina were not preferred. Adults of the white grub Heteronychus annulatus fed on the underground portion of 2- to 3-month-old shoots, resulting in the drying of the central portion of the spindle, forming dead hearts. Adults of the flea beetle Chaetocnema basalis, which fed on sugarcane leaves by scraping lamina surfaces, were active in the morning but remained hidden in leaf whorls during the hot hours of the day. The scale insect Aclerda takahashii was found only in the lower portion of sugarcane stalks as a solitary pest. Attempts to make the crawlers settle in the internodal region through physical barriers were unsuccessful. Information on the morphology of the pests is presented.