Indian-Meal Moth
Plodia interpunctella
Adult Indian-meal moths have no functional mouthparts and do not eat at all during their brief adult lives, dedicating all their energy to finding a mate.
- Scientific name
- Plodia interpunctella
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Pyralidae › Plodia
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- urban
- Habitat
- Pantries, grain silos, food processing plants, grocery stores, and occasionally outdoor nests of birds or rodents.
- Diet
- Larvae feed on dry plant-based foods including grains, flour, cereal, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and pet food; adults do not feed.
- Range
- Global distribution, North America, Europe, Asia, Australia
- Size
- Wingspan of 16-20 mm; body length of 8-10 mm.
- Lifespan
- 30 to 300 days depending on temperature; adults live only 5 to 13 days.
- Active
- nocturnal
- Threats
- Pest control treatments, parasitic wasps, and extreme cold temperatures.
- Safe to approach?
- Entirely harmless to humans; they do not bite, sting, or carry diseases. If encountered in your home, inspect dry food storage, discard infested items, and store remaining grains in airtight hard-plastic or glass containers.
The Indian mealmoth ( Plodia interpunctella ), alternatively spelled Indianmeal moth , is a pyraloid moth of the family Pyralidae. Alternative common names are weevil moth , pantry moth , flour moth or grain moth . The almond moth ( Cadra cautella ) and the raisin moth ( Cadra figulilella ) are commonly confused with the Indian mealmoth due to similar food sources and appearance. It is also not to be confused with the Mediterranean flour moth ( Ephestia kuehniella ), another common pest of stored grains.
Photo: Rosario Douglas, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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