Oviposition preference studies of the Mexican rice borer, Eoreuma loftini (Dyar), were conducted in the greenhouse on rice and sugarcane. Several sugarcane cultivars were used under drought stressed and non-drought stressed conditions at two phenological stages. Two rice cultivars were assessed at four phenological stages. Drought stress significantly increased oviposition on both sugarcane cultivars. Eggs were found exclusively on dry leaf material, indicating that increased injury observed in the field under stress conditions can be substantially explained by the enhanced attractiveness of sugarcane plants with a greater number of dry leaves. The relative attractiveness of rice was more pronounced from the boot stage onwards, which concords with the first occurrence of injury in field experiments at this stage. Studying population dynamics of insect pests on different host plants present in the natural habitat is a necessary component of understanding the biology and ecology of the pest. Ovipositional preference studies assist in determining management strategies that will contribute to the suppression of E. loftini populations.