Location
Several species of wireworm damage sugarcane. The sugar cane wireworm is found in wetter, poorly drained soils in central districts and at Ingham. It is sometimes a pest in poorly drained parts of fields north of Mossman.

Heteroderes spp. wireworms can be a problem in southern districts. Some 'round' wireworm species also damage cane.

Description
The sugar cane and Heteroderes wireworms are true wireworms. They are larvae of click beetles. The beetle of the sugar cane wireworm is up to 15mm long and grey-brown. The larva grows to 20mm long and has a firm, slightly flattened, shiny creamy-white segmented body with a hard yellow head and hard yellow forked rear end. Heteroderes spp. wireworms are larger than the sugar cane wireworm and more orange in colour (see above photo).

False wireworms are sometimes found in sugar cane fields. They look like true wireworms, but belong to a different family. They are not a major pest of sugar cane.

Damage
Wireworm bore into the eyes of germinating setts or ratooning stubble, or into the growing point on young shoots. Entry is by a small (<2.5mm) circular hole (see photo below). Symptoms of damage are poor or patchy germination and dead spindle leaves ('dead hearts'). Poor stooling varieties are probably more prone to wireworm damage.

Life Cycle
Beetles of sugar cane wireworm emerge during November-December and lay eggs in the soil. Eggs hatch in about 8 days. Larvae feed and grow over a 10 month period. In central districts sugar cane wireworm are pests mainly of autumn plant cane. Damage is less likely in spring plant-cane when larvae are almost fully fed and about to pulpate. The pupal stage lasts about 2 weeks. Wireworms will eat other soil insects, including soildier fly larvae and canegrub eggs and young grubs. However, damage caused to cane is thought to outweigh any benefits.

Control
Insecticide is available to control wireworm in plant cane but not ratoons. In ratoons, shoots killed by wireworm are usually compensated for by excess numbers of shoots produced by the cane plant. When ratoons are under stress (dry weather) the impact of wireworms is worse.