Aphomia sociella
Encyclopedia
The Bee Moth is a small moth
of the family
Pyralidae
. It is native to Europe
, but may be found synanthropically outside its original range.
The wingspan
is 18–44 mm (0.708661417322835–1.7 ). This moth flies from June to August in the temperate
parts of its range, e.g. Belgium
and The Netherlands.
The caterpillar
s feed on the honeycomb
in bumblebee
, bee
and wasp
nests.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Pyralidae
Pyralidae
The Pyralidae or snout moths are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many classifications, the grass moths are included in the Pyralidae as a subfamily, making the combined group one of the largest families in the Lepidoptera...
. It is native to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, but may be found synanthropically outside its original range.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 18–44 mm (0.708661417322835–1.7 ). This moth flies from June to August in the temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
parts of its range, e.g. Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and The Netherlands.
The caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s feed on the honeycomb
Honeycomb
A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal waxcells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey...
in bumblebee
Bumblebee
A bumble bee is any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae. There are over 250 known species, existing primarily in the Northern Hemisphere although they are common in New Zealand and in the Australian state of Tasmania.Bumble bees are social insects that are characterised by black...
, bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
and wasp
Wasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
nests.
Synonyms
Time and again this species has been described as supposedly new, yielding a considerable number of alternate scientific names which are all invalid as junior synonyms nowadays:- Aphomia asiatica Caradja, 1916
- Aphomia eritrella Della Beffa, 1941
- Aphomia lanceolata Dufrane, 1930
- Aphomia minor Dufrane, 1930
- Aphomia pedemontella Della Beffa, 1941
- Aphomia rufinella Krulikowski, 1909
- Aphomia virescens Skala, 1929
- Crambus colonatus Haworth, 1809 (unjustified emendation)
- Crambus colonum Fabricius, 1798 (unjustified emendation)
- Lithosia socia Fabricius, 1798 (unjustified emendation)
- Tinea colonella Linnaeus, 1758
- Tinea sociella Linnaeus, 1758
- Tinea tribunella [Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775