Sitotroga cerealella

Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier, 1789)
Angoumois Grain Moth
(formerly known as Alucita cerealella)
CHELARIINAE, GELECHIIDAE, GELECHIOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Sitotroga cerealella
(Picture: courtesy of Casa Bernardo, Brasil)

This Caterpillar is an agricultural pest overseas and in Australia. It particularly attacks grain: the seeds of plants in the family POACEAE, such as:

Maize ( Zea mays ),

Pearl Millet ( Pennisetum glaucum ),

Rice ( Oryza sativa ),

Sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor ), and

Wheat ( Triticum species ).

as well as wild grasses.

The caterpillar bores into a seed, and feeds inside the seed covering. Curiously: the caterpillars do not survive on ground grain such as flour. The caterpillar grows to a length of about 1 cm.

(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

The adult moths have a wingspan of about 1 cm. The forewings have a uniform colour, which can be between pale grey to dark brown. There are often one or two black spots on the forewings. The hindwings each have a fringe of hairs. The pheromones of this species have been identified.