A wheat germ medium, slightly modified, for rearing the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), was used to rear the sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius) under laboratory conditions. Wheat germ was the principal constituent of the diet and the medium also contained vitamin-free casein, sucrose, Wesson’s salts, choline chloride, agar, sodium alginate, ascorbic acid and water. Ascorbic acid in the diet was found to be essential to normal growth and development of the larva. A vitamin mixture and an inhibitor also were included in the diet. The life cycle of the sugarcane borer on wheat germ medium and on sections of grain sorghum plants was compared.