German Cockroach vs Meal Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute German Cockroach Meal Moth
Scientific Name Blattella germanica Pyralis farinalis
Order Blattodea Lepidoptera
Family Ectobiidae Pyralidae
Size 13-16 mm 10-14 mm body; 18-30 mm wingspan
Habitat Indoors Indoors
Diet Omnivores Seed Feeders
Regions Worldwide Worldwide
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

German Cockroach

The most common indoor cockroach worldwide. A single pair can produce over 300,000 offspring in one year. Has developed resistance to many common insecticides.

💡

Did You Know?

German cockroaches evolved to hate glucose — populations in certain areas developed an aversion to sweet-tasting baits, causing them to avoid poisoned traps entirely.

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.