''Aglossa pinguinalis'', the large tabby or grease moth, is a moth in the subfamily

Pyralinae The Pyralinae are the typical subfamily of snout moths (family (biology), family Pyralidae) and occur essentially worldwide, in some cases aided by involuntary introduction by humans. They are rather rare in the Americas however, and their divers ...

. The species was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. The dark-hued larvae feed on animal fats.

Description

The wingspan is 27 mm (males) and 37 mm (females) (or a forewing length of 14 to 18 mm). The forewings are greyish-ochreous or brownish, densely sprinkled with dark fuscous; a blackish subbasal line; first and second lines obscurely paler, rather broad, waved, cloudily edged with dark fuscous on both sides, second curved outwards in dise; a dark fuscous discal spot. Hindwings fuscous-grey; a paler postmedian line very obscurely indicated. The larva is blackish or dark brown; head blackish: in silken galleries amongst chaff and hay refuse.

Distribution

Native to the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

. It has been introduced in North America.Bugguide.net. Species ''Aglossa pinguinalis'' - Large Tabby - Hodges#5516
/ref> It has also been introduced to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

References

Pyralini Moths described in 1758 Moths of Europe Moths of Africa Moths of Asia Moths of New Zealand Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Pyralini-stub