Other Common Names
Meal Moth (Pyralis farinalis)
Tropical Meal Moth (Pyralis manihotalis)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Pyralis Linnaeus, 1758
Aletes Rafinesque, 1815
Ceropsina Rafinesque, 1815
Spyrella Rafinesque, 1815
Asopia Treitschke, 1828
Sacatia Walker, 1863
Eutrichodes Warren, 1891
Explanation of Names
Generic name
Pyralis from Pliny, "a winged insect that was supposed to live in fire." From Pliny the Elder (11, 42, 36), see translation at
Perseus Digital Library.
(1)Numbers
2 species in North America.
Food
Larvae feed on stored grain.
Print References
Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae. (Edn 10) 1:
533Internet References
live adult image of P. farinalis (UK Moths)
adult illustration of P. manihotalis (taiming.com.cn)
common name reference (Common Names for Florida Lepidoptera)
Contributed by
Robin McLeod on 15 March, 2005 - 10:24am
Additional contributions by
Randy HardyLast updated 2 July, 2014 - 1:51pm