The moth is found from China to Australia, including in Java, Sulawesi, the Philippines, Borneo, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Micronesia.

The Asian corn borer is part of the species complex, Ostrinia, in which members are difficult to distinguish based on appearance.

[4] There is currently extensive research on eradicating this pest from corn crop in Asia, including the use of biological agents and toxins.

More specifically, it is located in China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Lao, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

[6] The Asian corn borer thrives in tropical regions because in these countries there is continuous farming of its host crop through the year.

[6] The larvae work their way through the host plant (typically maize), by beginning to feed on the underside, or whorl, of the leaves.

They also use existing silk strand connections to other plants as trails where they can hope to find a better food source that can also serve them as a location for pupation.

[9] They appear scaly and are laid in overlapping groups, resembling roof tiles and fish scales.

[5] The eggs are approximately half a millimeter long and white, turning black before emergence, which occurs 3 to 10 days after incubation.

The late instar larva is yellow brown with dark spots and reaches up to 2.9 centimeters in length.

[6] After 3 to 4 weeks, the caterpillar larvae transform into pupae for 6 to 9 days in a cocoon in the soil or stem of the plant, before becoming moths.

Meanwhile, males are darker with a tapering abdomen and similar bands across their wings and tend to be slightly smaller in size than the females.

[12][13] The female responds to this signal by becoming motionless, making it easier for males to mate since they are not effective at copulating.

This predator cue behavior is exhibited in several other species including Goodeinae fish, swordtail characins, and water mites.

This is supported by evidence that the antibiotic application of tetracycline, an agent that kills Wolbachia, produces all-male offspring broods.

[9] The Asian corn borer has important receptors on their antennae that enable the moth to detect olfactory cues for mate attraction and oviposition.

It destroys the fruit when it bores into the ear to feed on the silk and kernels, and the stem when it creates a cocoon for pupation.

[22] Some bacteria that inhabit the gut of entomopathogenic nematodes, specifically Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus, have the pathogenic potential to kill Ostrinia furnacalis within 48 hours.