# 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.

- **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.

## About

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.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/491f0c40-ecbc-4073-af7a-d4e95aadc881
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/124184
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plodia interpunctella
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/655494534/medium.jpg (Rosario Douglas, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.