Photo © Mike Wall

Meal Moth

Pyralis farinalis

Checklist Number
62.072 [B&F: 1417]

Verification
Record will be accepted (subject to date and location checks)

Classification

Family:Pyralidae
Subfamily:Pyralinae
Genus:Pyralis
Species:farinalis
Authority:(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common in farm buildings, barns, warehouses and granaries, also sometimes in houses, across much of Britain, occasionally recorded in the wider countryside. Distributed widely and evenly over Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight, with no particular pattern. Wingspan 22-30 mm. Nocturnal, but often easy to find on walls during the day. Main confusion species are P. lienigialis, which is much darker and lacks contrastingly pale median area, and Painted Meal Moth P. pictalis, which has straighter fasciae on forewing. Larva feeds on dried goods, cereals, grain and dry vegetable matter.

The abundance in each month is indicated as follows:

No records
Very occasional
Irregular
Uncommon
Off-peak, but not unusual
Off-peak, but not unusual
Main flight time
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Adult
Larval

Records by week (adult)

Records by week (larval)

No Larval records to show.