Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Pyralidae Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Pyralis | |
 | ||
Similar Pyralis pictalis, Pyralis, Pyralinae, Pyralis regalis, Aglossa caprealis | ||
Pyralis manihotalis is a moth of the Pyralidae family.
Contents
Distribution
It is a widespread, pan-tropical species (Robinson et al., 1994), known from Africa, India, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, Samoa, Hawaii, South America and the West Indies. It is occasionally recorded from Europe through accidental importation in bones and animal hides.
Description
The wingspan is about 12–20 mm (Robinson et al., 1994; Weinstein & Edwards, 1994; Wang, 2000), although given as a rather generous 24–37 mm in Goater (1986).
Ecology
The larvae feed on a wide range of dead and decaying materials, including stored grain, meal, pulses, dried fruit, bones, animal hides (Goater, 1986; Robinson et al., 1994) and chocolate. Adults are primarily nocturnal, though easily disturbed by day in warehouses; they are attracted to ultraviolet light (Robinson et al., 1994). Weistein & Edwards (1994) found a self-sustaining population of this moth species feeding on bat guano in a cave.