Pearl Charaxes vs Cork Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Pearl Charaxes Cork Moth
Scientific Name Charaxes varanes Nemapogon cloacella
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Nymphalidae Tineidae
Size 55-70 mm wingspan 10-16 mm wingspan
Habitat Underground Gardens
Diet Sap Feeders Fungus Feeders
Regions Sub-Saharan Africa Europe, Asia, introduced to North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Pearl Charaxes

A medium-sized charaxes butterfly with pearly white underwings and tawny-orange uppersides. It is one of the most common charaxes in southern Africa.

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Did You Know?

Unlike most butterflies, charaxes are attracted to rotting fruit and animal droppings rather than flowers.

Cork Moth

A small mottled brown and cream moth that naturally breeds in bracket fungi on trees. It occasionally becomes a pest in wine cellars by boring into corks.

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Did You Know?

Wine collectors dread this moth because its larvae can bore through corks and ruin entire cellars of fine wine.