Galleria mellonella

Galleria mellonella
Greater Wax Moth
Resting adult, side view
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pyralidae
Tribe: Galleriini
Genus: Galleria
Fabricius, 1798
Species: G. mellonella
Binomial name
Galleria mellonella
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms

Numerous, see text

The Greater Wax Moth or Honeycomb Moth (Galleria mellonella) is a moth of the family Pyralidae. It is the only member of the genus Galleria. It is found in most of the world, including Europe and adjacent Eurasia (its presumed native range), and as an introduced species e.g. in North America and Australia.

The Lesser Wax Moth (Achroia grisella) is a close relative, which also belongs to tribe Galleriini of the pyralid subfamily Galleriinae. The Greater Wax Moth is the type species of this tribe and subfamily.

Description, ecology and use by humans

Mounted, dorsal view
Mounted, ventral view

The adults' wingspan is 30–41 mm. This moth flies from May to October in the temperate parts of its range (e.g. Belgium and The Netherlands).

The caterpillar larvae feed on the honeycomb inside bee nests and may become pests. Less often, they are found in bumblebee and wasp nests, or feed on dried figs.[1]

The larvae of the Greater Wax Moth have been shown to be an excellent model organism for in vivo toxicology and pathogenicity testing, replacing the use of small mammals in such experiments. The larvae are also well-suited models for studying the cellular and the humoral responses of the insect immune system.


Synonyms

As a widespread and somewhat notorious (due to its occasional pest status) species, the Greater Wax Moth has been described under a number of now-invalid junior synonyms:[2]

  • Galleria austrina Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875
  • Galleria cerea Haworth, 1811 (unjustified emendation)
  • Galleria cerealis Hübner, 1825 (unjustified emendation)
  • Galleria crombrugheela Dufrane, 1930
  • Galleria crombrugheella (lapsus)
  • Galleria mellomella (lapsus)
  • Phalaena mellonella Linnaeus, 1758
  • Phalaena cereana Blom, 1764
  • Tinea cerella Fabricius, 1775 (unjustified emendation)
  • Vindana obliquella Walker, 1866

Junior synonyms (and otherwise invalid names) of the genus Galleria are:[2]

  • "Adeona" Rafinesque, 1815 (nomen nudum)
  • Cerioclepta Sodoffsky, 1837
  • Vindana Walker, 1866

Footnotes

  1. ^ Grabe (1942)
  2. ^ a b See references in Savela (2009)

References

  • Grabe, Albert (1942): Eigenartige Geschmacksrichtungen bei Kleinschmetterlingsraupen ["Strange tastes among micromoth caterpillars"]. Zeitschrift des Wiener Entomologen-Vereins 27: 105-109 [in German]. PDF fulltext
  • Savela, Markku (2009): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms – Galleria. Version of 2009-APR-07. Retrieved 2010-APR-11.

External links


Stub icon This Pyralidae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.