![]() | Raisin Moth (erroneously: Ephestia fugulilla) PHYCITINAE, PYRALIDAE, PYRALOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@outlook.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of Caroline Harding,
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, New Zealand )
This Caterpillar is quite handsome: it is white with four rows of purplish brown spots along the back, and a brown head and collar. It grows to a length of about 1 cm. It is a pest of any stored foodstuff, particularly fruit, and especially grapes. It really prefers grapes that are damaged already and still moist.
The adult moth has fawn forewings and pale hindwings. It has a wing span of about 2 cms. The mating behaviour has been investigated, and some of the pheromones have been determined.
The species occurs world-wide, for example in:
and having been introduced by unfortunate accident, also occurs in Australia in
The species may be controlled using :
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 350.
Charles Stuart Gregson,
Description of an Ephestia new to science,
The Entomologist,
Volume 5 (1871), p. 385.
![]() caterpillar | ![]() butterflies | ![]() Lepidoptera | ![]() moths | ![]() caterpillar |
(updated 11 September 2008, 18 April 2014)