Types of meal moths. It is not to be confused with flour moth. Packaged items such as flour grains cereal pasta and dried snacks are a favorite food source to these pests. Indian meal moths facts identification control scientific name. Alternative common names are weevil moth pantry moth flour moth or grain moth.
The gypsy moth has several subspecies namely the european gypsy moth asian gypsy moth and the japanese gypsy moth. These pests are most of the time mistaken or confused with grain moths. The indianmeal moth also spelled as indian meal moth and indian meal moth is a pyraloid moth of the family pyralidae. The reproductive life of indian meal moths starts with the adults laying eggs.
Adult indian meal moths are about 38 of an inch long and have a wingspan of about 58 of an inch. The wing color is generally gray but. They have an elongated oval shaped body their wings are gray in color except for the rear half which are a distinctive rusty bronze color. The european gypsy moth is found in various areas including north africa europe and western asia.
What do they look like. The adult is a small moth about 38 inches long with a wingspan of about 58 inches. These wings consist of a blend of 2 colors. Infested foods are clumpy a common result as the larva is webbed together with silk strands.
The almond moth and the raisin moth are commonly confused with the indian meal moth due to similar food sources and appearance. It is the type species of the genus pyralis and by extension of its entire tribe pyralini subfamily pyralinae and family. The wingspan of male gypsy moths ranges from 3 4 cm and for females it is 56 to 67 cm. Rust bronze and pale tan colors.
The indian meal moths mainly fly at night in your home because they are attracted to lights just like their other kinds. Similar to rice weevils these moths will attack dried goods commonly found in the kitchen cabinets. What do they look like. In fact you can do a better job than a pest control professional because it is your diy efforts not insecticides that will get rid of the moths for good.
These small winged insects have brown gray and tan hues. Adults can also be identified because of the zigzag pattern that they tend to fly in. The larval stage is usually cream colored sometimes with yellowish green or pinkish shades and has a dark brown head. First off adult indian meal moths can be identified by their wings.
Its larvae caterpillars are pests of certain stored foods namely milled plant products. There are a few other aliases for the indian meal moth. The species was named after being noted for feeding on indian meal or cornmeal and it does not occur natively in india as the aberrant usage of indian meal moth would sugg.