Pyralis farinalis Linnaeus, 1758
Meal Moth
 (one synonym : Asopia domesticalis Zeller, 1847)
PYRALINAE,   PYRALIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Pyralis farinalis
(Photo: courtesy of Amy Prendergast, Perth, Western Australia)

The caterpillars of this moth are a cosmopolitan pest on stored grain. The caterpillars are cream coloured with a brown head, and grow to a length of about 2 cms.

Pyralis farinalis
(Photo: courtesy of Laura Levens, Upper Beaconsfield, Victoria)

The adult moths have brown wings with arcs of white lines. On the forewings, these separate darker patches at the tip and base. The eyes have a green sheen. The moth typically rests with the tip of its abdomen turned up. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

Pyralis farinalis
(Specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

The Pheromones for this species have been determined.

The species has been found all over the world, including:

  • Canada,
  • Finland,
  • Great Britain,
  • Japan,

    and most of Australia including

  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Australian Capital Territory,
  • Victoria,
  • Tasmania, and
  • South Australia, and
  • Western Australia.

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 31.19, pp. 68, 349.

    Carl Linnaeus,
    Insecta Lepidoptera,
    Systema Naturae,
    Edition 10, Volume 1 (1760), Class 5, Part 3, p. 533, No. 226.

    Peter B. McQuillan, Jan A. Forrest, David Keane, & Roger Grund,
    Caterpillars, moths, and their plants of Southern Australia,
    Butterfly Conservation South Australia Inc., Adelaide (2019), p. 78.

    Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
    A Guide to Australian Moths,
    CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 53.

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    (updated 8 January 2013, 12 October 2025)