Larval instars of Chilo partellus Swinhoe reared on sorghum plants were determined. The larvae were separable into five non-overlapping instars by analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple range test, frequency distribution and scatter diagram of the head capsule widths. Head capsule increment from one instar to the next conformed to Dyar's rule, while at the same time agreeing with Richards' hypothesis. The stadial periods for the five instars were 6, 4, 5, 3 and 7 days, respectively.