Mediterranean Flour Moth vs Promethea Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Mediterranean Flour Moth Promethea Moth
Scientific Name Ephestia kuehniella Callosamia promethea
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Pyralidae Saturniidae
Size 10-14 mm body; 20-25 mm wingspan Wingspan 75-95mm
Habitat Indoors Woodlands
Diet Seed Feeders Herbivores
Regions Worldwide North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Mediterranean Flour Moth

A major pest of flour mills that produces dense silken webbing that clogs milling machinery. It is pale grey with zigzag markings on the forewings.

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Did You Know?

It was the first insect used to demonstrate biological pest control with parasitoid wasps in the early 1900s.

Promethea Moth

A large silk moth with strong sexual dimorphism. Males are dark with tan margins while females are reddish-brown with lighter markings.

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Did You Know?

Males fly during the afternoon which is unusual for silk moths and they are sometimes mistaken for dark-colored swallowtail butterflies.