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Meal moth
Meal moth
Pyralis farinalis
Insecta
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
A few weeks
Size
Small
Diet
Herbivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Social
Solitary
Biome
Temperate forest
Range
Worldwide
Movement
Flight
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Camouflage
Status
Common

About

The meal moth is a small insect that dwells in dark corners of grain storage. Its larvae spin dense silk tunnels to hide while consuming dry plant matter.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg
    A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
  2. 2.
    caterpillar
    A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
  3. 3.
    cocoon
    A silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
  4. 4.
    moth
    A winged adult with feathery antennae and scaled wings, most active after dark.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Pyralidae
Genus
Pyralis
Species
Pyralis farinalis