Ephestia cf. parasitella

• Subfamily: Phycitinae, Phycitini
• Wingspan: 14-20 mm
• Flight period: Apr - Sep
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Dry vegetable matter, grapes

Information

The Ephestia parasitella is a moth of the Pyralidae family, with a wingspan of 14-20 mm.
In Europe it is found in the Iberian Peninsula, in the United Kingdom, in France, in the Benelux, in Croatia, in Greece, in Slovakia, in Romania, in Belarus, in Ukraine and Eastern European Russia. *
In Italy it is also present in the islands. *

The front wings of Ephestia parasitella are gray in color, with abundant brown and dark ocher dusting. It has wings divided into three parallel bands (in the discal and postdical region) by two dark lines. The internal line is bordered in clear internally. The external line with a slightly wavy trend is externally bordered in light and subsequently presents a slight darker shade. Stain in the cell at times barely marked.

Rear wings gray / whitish with shades of gray / brown along and the veins and the edge. the wings are fringed.
Head, thorax and abdomen are in the background color of the wings.

This moth is univoltine and adults fly from April to September depending on the latitude. The species overwinters at the larva stage inside a silky cocoon. Pupation occurs inside the cocoon itself during spring.

Unlike most of its congeners, this species is not a parasite of dry food in warehouses and kitchens. ***

The larvae feed on dry plant matter, including dried berries and dead ivy stems.
The presence of Ephestia parasitella has been reported for some Emilian vineyards, **** and near the harvest in some wine-growing areas of central Italy. *****


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/ -
*** Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Belgium - https://projects.biodiversity.be/lepidoptera/species/6224/
**** Deseö (1980a, 1980b)
***** Bagnoli et al. (2009)