Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / Moths
Sticker of Greater wax moth
Bug card No. 0665 of 1,500

Greater wax moth

Galleria mellonella
Eats: Leftovers and dead thingsMothsHouses and farms6 legs

The greater wax moth is a plain brown grey moth that sneaks into beehives. Its fat white caterpillars live inside the hive and eat the wax honeycomb. Beekeepers do not like it, but scientists find it very interesting.

Lives in
All over the world, wherever people keep honeybees
Length
1 to 1.8 cm (0.39 to 0.71 in)
Wingspan
3 to 4.1 cm (1.2 to 1.6 in)
Top speed
about 14 km/h (8.7 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. It only causes trouble for bees and beekeepers.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat beeswax, pollen, a little honey and the old skins that baby bees leave behind. They never eat the bee babies themselves.
For real!Photo of Greater wax moth
Picture by dhobern. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Greater wax moth about 1.8 cm long (0.71 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)

How wide are its wings?

Greater wax moth wings about 4.1 cm tip to tip (1.6 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 3 grains of rice in a rowwings as wide as 7 grains of rice in a rowcould fly across a whole football pitch in 27 secondsmoves 220 times its own body length every second

How big is Greater wax moth compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its caterpillars can chew up and break down plastic bags, which scientists find very exciting.

2

Boy moths make very high sounds that people cannot hear, to help find a girl moth.

3

A mother moth hides her eggs in tiny cracks inside the beehive so the bees do not find them.

4

One mother can lay up to 1800 eggs.

5

Scientists often use its caterpillars in their labs to study and learn new things.

you asked

Most asked questions about Greater wax moth

?What does the greater wax moth eat?

Its caterpillars eat the wax combs of beehives, plus pollen, a little honey and old bee skins.

?Is the greater wax moth harmful?

Not to people. But its caterpillars can damage beehives, so beekeepers try to keep it out.

?Can wax moth caterpillars eat plastic?

Yes, scientists found that they can break down a kind of plastic called polyethylene.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Galleria mellonella
Group
Moths
Family
Pyralidae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Pyralidae
Lives on
Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Oceania
Also known as
Honeycomb moth

Where the facts come from

  1. Galleria mellonella (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by dhobern. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

More from the same group: Moths

Atlas mothMothsLuna mothMothsHummingbird hawk-mothMothsDomestic silk mothMothsIsabella tiger mothMothsPolyphemus mothMoths

Also at home here: Houses and farms

Spitting spiderSpidersKhapra beetleBeetlesHuman fleaOther insectsKudzu bugTrue bugs and cicadasOx warble flyFlies and mosquitoesEastern subterranean termiteCockroaches and termites