Confused Flour Beetle vs Meal Moth
Side-by-side species comparison
| Attribute | Confused Flour Beetle | Meal Moth |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Tribolium confusum | Pyralis farinalis |
| Order | Coleoptera | Lepidoptera |
| Family | Tenebrionidae | Pyralidae |
| Size | 3-4 mm | 10-14 mm body; 18-30 mm wingspan |
| Habitat | Indoors | Indoors |
| Diet | Seed Feeders | Seed Feeders |
| Regions | Worldwide | Worldwide |
| Conservation | Not Evaluated | Least Concern |
Confused Flour Beetle
A small reddish-brown beetle nearly identical to the red flour beetle, hence the 'confused' name. It is a worldwide pest of stored flour.
Did You Know?
It was named 'confused' because entomologists kept confusing it with the red flour beetle.
Meal Moth
A distinctive moth with olive and reddish-brown banded wings that infests stored grain and flour. Larvae live in silken tubes within infested food products.
Did You Know?
Its larval silk tubes can form dense mats in stored grain, binding the product into solid masses.