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European Grain Moth (and larva)
Nemapogon granella
40.7015, -73.3517
Field Notes
Description:
It belongs to the fungus moth family . This small moth has a wingspan of 10–18 mm. The forewings are irregularly mottled black, white and grey, resembling congeners such as the Cork Moth (N. cloacella). They have a row of large black spoths on the leading edge, which merge with spots within the wing to form a rough band zigzagging along the length of the forewings. The hindwings are uniformly greyish-brown and surrounded by a fringe of long hairs. On the head, the adults have a tuft of yellowish-white hairs. The long,white, caterpillar larvae eat rotting wood in the wild, though they prefer bracket fungi, usually Polyporales. They produce webbing where ever they go.
Habitat:
Larvae in association with humans will feed on a variety of dry organic material, such as dried fruit, dry pet kibble, and mushrooms, cereal and legume seeds, flour, Topinambur stalks, and even cork (e.g. corks of wine and champagne bottles) and the ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea.
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