Nemapogon granella (Linnaeus, 1758)
European Grain Moth & Wine Cork Moth
 (one synonym : Tinea tesserella Fabricius, 1794)
NEMAPOGONINAE,   TINEIDAE,   TINEOIDEA
  
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


(Photo: courtesy of John Lenagan, Anglesea, Victoria)

The Caterpillar of this species is a cosmopolitan pest, and is reported to feed on a variety of vegetable materials, including

  • stored dried fruit,
  • the corks of wine and champagne,
  • rotting wood, and
  • Bracket Fungi.

    The caterpillar grows to a length of about 1 cm.


    (Photo: courtesy of Landcare Research Ltd., New Zealand)

    The adult moth is white, with complex black or dark brown markings, and has a wingspan of about 1.5 cms.

    It has been reported in :

  • Denmark,
  • Germany,
  • UK, and
  • USA,

    and in Australia in

  • New South Wales, and
  • Victoria.

    Attempts to control the pest have used :

  • pheromone traps.

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig 19.15, p. 183.

    Carl Linnaeus,
    Insecta Lepidoptera,
    Systema Naturae,
    Edition 10, Volume 1 (1760), Class 5, Part 3, p. 537, No. 259.

    Gaden S. Robinson & Ebbe S. Nielsen,
    Tineid Genera of Australia,
    Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 2,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 1993, pp. ix, x, 10, 246-252, 263, 279.

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    (updated 24 August 2004, 24 May 2019, 23 November 2020)