Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius, 1794)

Mariposa, Butterfly

Diatraea saccharalis is a well-known pest of sugar cane (Saccharum offcinarum L.) and has been reported feeding on 26 different Poaceae species (Robinson et al., 2010).

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Lepidoptera

Superfamily
Pyraloidea

Family
Crambidae

Genus
Diatraea

Species
saccharalis

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 2003

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Contaminant

Subpathway: Contaminant on plants (inc. seeds and plant associated material)

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: No data

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: San Cristóbal (Landry, 2016).

References

  • Cañarte-Bermúdez, E. Peñaherrera-Colina, L., Navia-Santillan, D., Vera-Coello, D., Macas-Guaman, L., Paz-Carrasco, L., Duchicela-Escobar, J., Garces-Carrera, S. (2020) Catálogo de organismos asociados a especies agrícolas en la provincia de Galápagos INIAP-MAG-ABG. Quito, Ecuador 202 p.
  • Causton, C.E. Peck, S. B., Sinclair, B. J., Roque-Albelo, L., Hodgson, C. J. & B. Landry. (2006) Alien insects: threats and implications for the conservation of the Galapagos Islands. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 99(1), 121-143.
  • Landry, B. Léger, T. (2024) Taxonomic revision of the Crambinae (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae sensu lato) of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Revue suisse de Zoologie. 131(2): 357-387.
  • Roque-Albelo, L. (2006) Diversity and ecology of the Lepidoptera in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador Cardiff University (United Kingdom)
  • Roque-Albelo, L. Landry, B. (2016) CDF Checklist of Galapagos Butterflies and Moths Charles Darwin Research Station, Puerto Ayora, Ecuador, 32 pp.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Diatraea saccharalis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7155. Accessed 31 October 2026.