Meal Moth vs Lobster Cockroach

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Meal Moth Lobster Cockroach
Scientific Name Pyralis farinalis Nauphoeta cinerea
Order Lepidoptera Blattodea
Family Pyralidae Blaberidae
Size 10-14 mm body; 18-30 mm wingspan 25-30 mm
Habitat Indoors Forests
Diet Seed Feeders Seed Feeders
Regions Worldwide Africa, Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

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.

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Did You Know?

Its larval silk tubes can form dense mats in stored grain, binding the product into solid masses.

Lobster Cockroach

A small to medium cockroach with mottled grey-brown coloring that is widely used in scientific research and as feeder insects. It communicates using pheromones.

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Did You Know?

Male lobster cockroaches establish dominance hierarchies using chemical signals, and subordinate males alter their pheromone profiles to avoid confrontation.