MPG (species pages only) MPG (entire website) Entire Web

Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Pyralidae 80a0041 – 5622   Galleria mellonella (Linnaeus, 1758)              Greater Wax Moth

Photographs are the copyrighted property of each photographer listed. Contact individual photographers for permission to use for any purpose.

© Chris Mallory Large Map & Chart Report Errors About Maps

Larva and Host Plants: Host familiy: Detritophagous.  Host genera: Detritophagous[omnivorous].  Notes: bee's wax, dried fruit, pollen & dead insects (Leckie & Beadle 2018); bee's nests, dried fruits & dead insects (Powell & Opler 2009).  (Shropshire & Douglas 2025) Similar Species: Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.) Synonymy: mellonella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Phalaena) - MONA 1983: 5622 austrinia Felder, Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875 (Galleria) cereana (Blom, 1764) (Phalaena) crombrugheella Dufrane, 1930 (Galleria) obliquella (Walker, 1866) (Vindana)

References (Caution: DNA barcoding at BOLD provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.)

Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: Identifications often erroneous; DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; many specimens not sequenced. Powell, J. A. & P. A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America, Pl. 24.51m; p. 186. Book Review and ordering Shropshire, K.J. & D.W. Tallamy, 2025. Lepidoptera of North America, north of Mexico: an annotated list containing geographic ranges and host-plant records. ZooKeys, 1261: 101-113; Suppl. 1. (PDF or read online) Species Page at Block Island Moths Species Page at BugGuide.Net Species Page at Mass Moths Species Page at iNaturalist

© Anthony W. Thomas © Bob Patterson © Maury Heiman © Arlene Ripley © Ken Childs

CalPhotos – © Jerry Powell © Jim Vargo

© Joyce Gross © Joyce Gross

Moth Photographers Group  at the  Mississippi Entomological Museum  at the  Mississippi State University

Send suggestions, or submit photographs to Webmaster — Moth Photographers Group

Database design and scripting support provided by Mike Boone