Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

18 June 2004   (date of moth capture)  (left)
15/16 June 2005   (date of moth capture)  (right)

My thanks to Dr. Jean-François Landry of Agriculture Canada for confirming my identification of both specimens illustrated above, which were collected and given to the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa.  Both these specimens have also been included in the All Leps Barcode of Life project of the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario at the University of Guelph.  For additional information, I have consulted Covell (1984) and Forbes, William T.M., The Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States, Primitive Forms, Microlepidoptera, Pyraloids, Bombyces (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University, 1923).

Pyralis farinalis, also known as the Meal Moth, has a dark reddish brown forewing with a distinctive pattern.  The median area is lighter in color and somewhat olive-brown or even greenish.  The antemedial line is white, curving outward in the middle.  The white postmedial line is somewhat thickened near the costa, before curving outward and then back inward to reach the inner margin a short distance in from the anal angle.  The terminal line is also white.  The hindwing has a similar pattern, but is much more subdued in color.  Covell indicates a wingspan ranging from 1.5 to 3.0 cm for this species.

According to Covell (1984), the larvae of Pyralis farinalis are serious pests of stored grain and grain products, and occur year-round.  In light of its status as a pest, I'm pleased to have seen so few of these moths, and all of them outdoors.

My records to date for Pyralis farinalis (each date representing "the night of") are in the table below: