What is "stalk borer"

Stalk \Stalk\ (st[add]k), n. [OE. stalke, fr. AS. st[ae]l, stel, a stalk. See Stale a handle, Stall.]

1. (Bot.)

   1. The stem or main axis of a plant; as, a stalk of wheat, rye, or oats; the stalks of maize or hemp.

   2. The petiole, pedicel, or peduncle, of a plant.

2. That which resembles the stalk of a plant, as the stem of a quill.
   --Grew.

3. (Arch.) An ornament in the Corinthian capital resembling the stalk of a plant, from which the volutes and helices spring.

4. One of the two upright pieces of a ladder. [Obs.]

   To climb by the rungs and the stalks.
   --Chaucer.

5. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. A stem or peduncle, as of certain barnacles and crinoids.

   2. The narrow basal portion of the abdomen of a hymenopterous insect.

   3. The peduncle of the eyes of decapod crustaceans.

6. (Founding) An iron bar with projections inserted in a core to strengthen it; a core arbor.

   Stalk borer (Zo["o]l.), the larva of a noctuid moth ( Gortyna nitela), which bores in the stalks of the raspberry, strawberry, tomato, asters, and many other garden plants, often doing much injury.

The Stalk Borer (Papaipema nebris) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found from southern Canada, through the Eastern United States (East of the Rocky Mountains) to the Gulf of Mexico, although it is absent from Florida.

This wingspan is 25–44 mm. The moth flies from June to September depending on the location.

The larva are considered a pest of corn but also feed on various other large-stemmed plants, such as Ambrosia trifida.