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Moths (Stored Product)
Latin Name: Cadra cautella
Common Name: Almond Moth
Other Names: Tropical warehouse moth, fig moth, dried currant moth
Pest Details
Origin:
Likely this is native to tropical regions of the world.
Biology:
The Almond Moth is an occasional pest of stored food products, infesting most grain-based products as well as dried fruit and nuts. The life cycle is completed in less than 60 days, with multiple generations occurring each year indoors. It may be most common in the U.S. in California and Florida as ports of entry as well as in California’s huge fruit and nut industries. It is tropical in origin and survives best in warm climates. Females deposit up to 300 eggs on the material the larvae will feed on. The adult moths do not feed.
Identification:
The adult moth is small and has gray-brown forewings that have a darker band running across the middle from top to bottom. They are similar to the Mediterranean
Latin Name: Sitotroga cerealella
Common Name: Angoumois Grain Moth
Latin Family Name: Gelechiidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Possibly European in origin, as it first was discovered as a grain pest in the French province of Angoumois, from which it got its common name. It was found infesting grain in the United States in 1728, and now is found worldwide.
Biology:
The larvae of this species are obligated to feed within whole grains, and damp grain is preferred over dry product. It will infest virtually all types of grains, including corn, rice, wheat, barley, oats, and various other seeds and beans. It will infest grains still in the field, and the larva is able to remain quite active in cold weather, causing a great deal of damage in the winter. Grain that has been infested acquires a foul smell and taste, further adding to the destruction. Females lay between 40 and 300 eggs on the outside of the grains,
Latin Name: Hofmannophila pseudospretella
Common Name: Brown House Moth
Latin Family Name: Oecophoridae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Possibly of European origin, as it is now found nearly worldwide but appears to be most serious as a pest in Great Britain and Europe.
Biology:
This is a general feeder that may attack a wide variety of structural materials, including stored food products, fabrics of animal hair origin, dried plant materials, book bindings, paper, seeds and grains, corks, and leather or animal skins. It may feed on accumulations of dead insects, and this highly omnivorous behavior of the larvae makes it difficult to isolate an infestation. This is the only species in its genus. It is believed to be native to Asia, but is now found throughout the world including most of North America, transported by human activity in infested foods and other materials. In nature there will usually be a single
Latin Name: Tinea pellionella
Common Name: Casemaking Clothes Moth
Latin Family Name: Tineidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Possibly Asian in origin, but found throughout the world.
Biology:
The larvae are most damaging to fabrics of animal hair origin, but also may infest spices or grain-basedfoods, tobacco, feathers, dead insects, and fungus accumulations. A related species may often be found feeding on the mycelial growth of fungus on damp wood. The larvae create a silken case which they must stay within, dragging it with them as they move about, and enlarging it as they grow. The adults do not feed, and both adults and larvae avoid light, although the larvae may wander over walls and floors in a darkened room.
Identification:
The larva is easily identified by the small, tubular silk case it creates. This case will be the color of the material it feeds on, as it incorporates fibers
Latin Name: Nemapogon granella
Common Name: European Grain Moth
Latin Family Name: Tineidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Not mentioned in the literature, but found throughout North America and Europe.
Biology:
The larvae are not serious pests in general, but they do infest stored food products such as a variety of seeds and grains as well as processed vegetable-based foods. They may also attack tobacco and have been found burrowing into corks in wine bottles. The life cycle can be completed in less than 6 months, and there often will be two generations per year in indoor infestations.
Identification:
This is a small moth, with a wingspan of about 10 to 13 mm and a length of about 7 mm. Adults have a white head, forewings mottled brown and white, and the hind wings gray with a fringe of long hairs along the lower margin. They may be confused with the Angoumois Grain Moth, but do not have the thin extension
Latin Name: Galleria mellonella
Common Name: Greater Wax Moth
Latin Family Name: Pyralidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Possibly native to North America.
Biology:
The larvae of this moth are serious pests to beekeepers, as they may infest active beehives, where they feed on pollen and other waste materials in the hive, but bore through the honeycomb cells as they move about, causing great destruction. They commonly infest abandoned bee hives as well, and when these are in structures the larvae may bore through sheetrock and wall coverings as well. The adults are attracted to lights, but the presence of numbers of them indoors may indicate an active infestation within the structure.
Identification:
The larvae are white initially, and turn to darker brown or black as they mature. They pupate on the outside of a hive, and the presence of these pupae and silk webbing in the hive may indicate
Latin Name: Phereoeca uterella
Common Name: Household Casebearer
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
This species requires high humidity to survive well and is found in South America, leading to suspicion that its origin is also Latin America. In the U.S. it is found along the Gulf States from Florida to Texas and north into Virginia.
Biology:
This moth is closely related to the Plaster Bagworm, which is discussed separately and which is a distinct species. It is often confused with the Casemaking Clothes moth because the larvae of both moths as well as the Plaster Bagworm will create a small silk “case” for itself, camouflaged with debris from its local environment, and drag this case about as it wanders. Females deposit up to 200 eggs, cementing them to surfaces and on debris where larvae may find food. The larva immediately creates its silk case and it is a very active stage, wandering in search of food.
Latin Name: Plodia interpunctella
Common Name: Indian Meal Moth
Latin Family Name: Pyralidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
A native of Europe and Asia, but now found throughout the world. The common name was given to the moth by an American entomologist who found it infesting cornmeal, or “Indian” corn.
Biology:
This moth species can be found infesting possibly the widest range of food products of any moth, from nuts to grain products to fresh or dried fruit. It will infest virtually any processed food of vegetable origin, including candy bars, pet foods, and spices. It infests seeds and commonly will be in dried flower arrangements. It is a major pest of commercial dried fruit and nut industries. Females can lay up to 400 eggs on the food material, over a 2 to 3 week period, and usually at night. Adult moths tend to avoid lights. The larvae feed in seclusion, spinning silk webbing over themselves
Latin Name: Pyralis farinalis
Common Name: Meal Moth
Latin Family Name: Pyralidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Not found in literature, but this moth is found throughout the world.
Biology:
This species is one of several which are drawn most often to food products in damp or spoiled condition, on which some amount of fungus may be growing. They will infest any kind of vegetable or seed product and processed foods, but usually are in materials forgotten and in poor condition for some period of time. The adults may be attracted to lights, and can be found within homes when an infestation is not present. The larvae often spin a tube of silk around themselves, and feed by protruding from the end of this tube, causing a great deal of silk webbing and fecal matter to accumulate where they are present.
Identification:
The larva is similar to other small food-pest moth larvae. It is about
Latin Name: Ephestia kuehniella
Common Name: Mediterranean Flour Moth
Latin Family Name: Pyralidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Argument exists over whether this species originated in the Mediterranean or Central America, but it now is found throughout the world.
Biology:
This species infests virtually any material of plant or vegetable origin, including processed foods as well as nuts, seeds, and legumes, and dried fruits and baked products. It is a major problem in the flour industries, where the larvae create large masses of silk webbing that interferes with machinery and the processes. The female can lay over 600 eggs, usually fastened to a surface containing the food material. They appear to prefer ovipositing on dusty, powdery materials. Typically the life cycle takes about 2 months to complete, and in favorable climates generations can continue all year long.
Identification:
The