The term flour moth refers to certain small
moth
Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...
s of the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Pyralidae
The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyr ...
(snout moths, waxmoths), whose
caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...
s are a
pest of
flour
Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...
:
* ''
Ephestia kuehniella
The Mediterranean flour moth or mill moth (''Ephestia kuehniella'') 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 climat ...
'' (Mediterranean flour moth, Indian flour moth)
* ''
Plodia interpunctella
The Indianmeal moth (''Plodia interpunctella''), also spelled Indian meal moth and Indian-meal moth, is a Pyraloidea, pyraloid moth of the family (biology), family Pyralidae. Alternative common names are hanger-downers, weevil moth, pantry mot ...
'' (Indianmeal moth)
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
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
part light grey and the
distal
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...
part dark or reddish grey.
''
Pyralis farinalis
''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.
It is the type species of the genus '' Pyralis'', and by extensio ...
'', a somewhat more distantly related and more robust snout moth, is known as meal moth. Its caterpillars have similar habits.
{{Animal common name