Lepidoptera The Meal Moth – Pyralis Farinalis
The same family contains the common Meal Moth, so called because in the larval state it feeds on meal and allied substances.
The fore wings are yellowish grey, with reddish basal patches, a broad reddish band along the hind margin, and two whitish indented transverse lines. The hind wings are grey, and are crossed by two lines similar to and continuous with those of the front pair.
This moth is to be found in abundance throughout the summer months in places where corn, meal, and grain are stored in large quantities, sitting on walls and rafters during the daytime, and taking to flight in the evening.
The caterpillar feeds on corn, meal, grain, bran, &c., and lives concealed in a silken tube covered outside with particles of its food substance. It is not fully grown till nearly two years old, and then changes to a chrysalis in a white silken cocoon.