Flour moth

Last updated

The term flour moth refers to certain small moths of the family Pyralidae (snout moths, waxmoths), whose caterpillars are a pest of flour:

Moth Group of mostly-nocturnal insects in the order Lepidoptera

Moths comprise a group of insects related to butterflies, belonging to the order Lepidoptera. Most lepidopterans are moths, and there are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of which have yet to be described. Most species of moth are nocturnal, but there are also crepuscular and diurnal species.

Family is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy; it is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as being the "walnut family".

Pyralidae Family of moths

The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyralidae as a subfamily, making the combined group one of the largest families in the Lepidoptera. The latest review by Eugene G. Munroe & Solis, in Kristensen (1999) retains the Crambidae as a full family of Pyraloidea.

These two are closely related. They can easily be distinguished by their forewing coloration: the Mediterranean flour moth has light grey forewings with tiny dark specks, appearing uniformly grey from a distance. The Indianmeal moth has bicolored forewings, with the proximal part light grey and the distal part dark or reddish grey.

Pyralis farinalis , a somewhat more distantly related and more robust snout moth, is known as meal moth. Its caterpillars have similar habits.

<i>Pyralis farinalis</i> species of insect

Pyralis farinalis, the meal moth, is a cosmopolitan moth of the family Pyralidae. Its larvae (caterpillars) are pests of certain stored foods, namely milled plant products.


Related Research Articles

November moth species of insect

The November moth is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species can be found in the Palearctic ecozone in Western Europe from Central Scandinavia to the Mediterranean the Caucasus and Western Russia.

Slender pug species of insect

The slender pug (Eupithecia tenuiata) is a moth of the Geometridae family. It was first described by Hübner in 1813 and is found throughout Europe and western parts of Asia. The larva feed on the catkins of willow.

Mottled umber species of insect

The mottled umber is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is common throughout much of the Palearctic region. The species was first described by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759.

Brimstone moth species of insect

The brimstone moth is a moth of the family Geometridae.

Double square-spot species of insect

The double square-spot is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed through most of Europe except Portugal, the Mediterranean islands and northernmost Fennoscandia. In the East, the species ranges East across the Palearctic to Siberia and in the South-East to the Black Sea and in Iran. It rises to a height of about 2000 metres in the Alps.

<i>Smerinthus ocellatus</i> species of insect

Smerinthus ocellatus, the eyed hawk-moth, is a European moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

<i>Macrothylacia rubi</i> species of insect

Macrothylacia rubi, the fox moth, is a lepidopteran belonging to the family Lasiocampidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

Mediterranean flour moth species of insect

The Mediterranean flour moth or mill moth is a moth of the family Pyralidae. It is a common pest of cereal grains, especially flour. This moth is found throughout the world, especially in countries with temperate climates. It prefers warm temperatures for more rapid development, but it can survive a wide range of temperatures.

The herald (moth) species of insect

The Herald is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found throughout the Palearctic and Nearctic (Holarctic).

Black arches species of insect

The black arches or nun moth is a small Palaearctic moth. It is considered a forest pest.

Larch pug species of insect

The larch pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species can be found in Europe, the Ural Mountains, West and Central Siberia, the Altai Mountains, Transbaikalia, Yakutia, the Far East, Mongolia, Korea, Japan and in North America, from Yukon and Newfoundland to New York and Arizona.

<i>Endotricha flammealis</i> species of insect

Endotricha flammealis, the rose-flounced tabby, is a species of snout moth, family Pyralidae.

<i>Catocala fraxini</i> species of insect

Catocala fraxini, the blue underwing, also known as the Clifden nonpareil, is a moth of the family Erebidae.

<i>Atolmis rubricollis</i> species of insect

Atolmis rubricollis, commonly known as the red-necked footman, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in the summer in forested regions of Europe and Northern Asia. This moth was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.

<i>Phragmatobia fuliginosa</i> species of insect

Phragmatobia fuliginosa, the ruby tiger, is a moth of the family Erebidae.

<i>Calliteara pudibunda</i> species of insect

Calliteara pudibunda is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in Europe and Anatolia.

<i>Eupithecia tantillaria</i> species of insect

Eupithecia tantillaria, the dwarf pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1840. The species can be found in the Palearctic ecozone.

Erebidae family of insects

The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings (Catocala); litter moths (Herminiinae); tiger, lichen, and wasp moths (Arctiinae); tussock moths (Lymantriinae), including the arctic woolly bear moth ; piercing moths ; micronoctuoid moths (Micronoctuini); snout moths (Hypeninae); and zales, though many of these common names can also refer to moths outside the Erebidae. Some of the erebid moths are called owlets.

Phycitinae subfamily of insects

The Phycitinae are a subfamily of snout moths. Even though the Pyralidae subfamilies are all quite diverse, Phycitinae stand out even by standards of their family: with over 600 genera considered valid and more than 4000 species placed here at present, they unite up more than three-quarters of living snout moth diversity. Together with the closely related Epipaschiinae, they are apparently the most advanced lineage of snout moths.