A new species of Diatraea in the U.S. and the identity of grass borers in the Western Hemisphere

Diatraea species are grass borers that are distributed in the Western Hemisphere and feed on major crops such as sugarcane, sorghum, corn, rice, and minor grasses that are being investigated for conservation and biofuel potential such as gama grass.  A cryptic, new species, previously thought to be D. crambidoides (Grote), feeding on gama grass has been discovered from the midwestern United States.  Identification of adult Diatraea specimens is notoriously difficult, i.e. they all look alike, and the literature to morphologically identify these moths is old and difficult to obtain. Morphological identity of described species was accomplished by dissection and study of type specimens. New morphological keys for the identification of males and females with digital genitalic images for the entire Western Hemisphere are presented.