Investigations with the sugarcane borer sex pheromone have been conducted in the laboratory and field since 1964 to: (1) develop a suitable synthetic diet for rearing large numbers of larvae; (2) develop a reliable bioassay to aid chemical studies of the pheromone; (3) study male response in the field to the pheromone; (4) determine the effects on natural populations of trapping males in small field plots; and (5) identify the pheromone. More than 1,000,000D. saccharalis have been reared on synthetic diets during the past 4 years. Bioassay techniques for detecting active fractions separated during chemical studies have been developed. Statistically significant reductions in sugarcane borer infestations and damage to sugarcane have been attained in small replicated field plots. Male movement in the field has been studied utilizing marking and release techniques. About 1400 males of the bluegrass webworm,C. teterrellus, responded to cagedD. saccharalis females during two years of field work, thus providing evidence for a lack of species specificity of the pheromone.