Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
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View PDFPyralidae Members: Pyralis Members: 51 NC Records

Pyralis farinalis Linnaeus, 1758 - Meal Moth

Pyralis farinalisPyralis farinalisPyralis farinalis
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Pyraloidea		 Family:
Pyralidae		Subfamily:
Pyralinae		Tribe:
Pyralini		P3 Number:
80a0667		 MONA Number:
5510.00		 Other Common Name:
Common Meal Moth
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Pyralis farinalisAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New%20Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Our records come mainly from developed areas.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on fungi, stored grains, and other detritus; also on various herbaceous species (Robinson et al., 2010). - View
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR SNA
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: Cosmopolitan; probably exotic in North America.

 Photo Gallery for Pyralis farinalis - Meal Moth

 50 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: R. Newman on 2025-07-24
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Jim Petranka, John Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-05-08
Harnett Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: R. Teper on 2025-05-02
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: R. Newman on 2025-05-01
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: R. Newman on 2024-08-27
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: R. Newman on 2024-08-21
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: K. Bischof on 2024-04-18
Transylvania Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-09-26
Wake Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: R. Newman on 2023-09-07
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-08-09
Orange Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: R. Newman on 2023-06-08
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: R. Newman on 2023-04-24
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-03-30
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Morgan Freese on 2022-08-04
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Simpson Eason on 2022-07-05
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Vin Stanton on 2022-05-27
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Dean Furbish on 2022-05-21
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-05-16
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2022-05-15
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Stephen Hall on 2022-05-14
Orange Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: R. Newman on 2022-04-30
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Lior Carlson on 2021-08-20
Orange Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2021-06-18
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: tom ward on 2021-05-27
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2021-05-26
Brunswick Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan and Steve Hall on 2021-05-10
Moore Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Erich Hofmann on 2021-05-03
New Hanover Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2021-04-26
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-10-12
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Pyralis farinalisRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-08-23
Guilford Co.
Comment: