Greater wax moth or honeycomb moth - Galleria mellonella (Linnaeus, 1758) - Cyprus

See also - List of Moths of Cyprus you will find in this blog (Lepidoptera)

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 on other continents, in cluding North America and Australia.

Its close relative, the lesser wax moth (Achroia grisella), is also a member of tribe Galleriini of the pyralid subfamily Galleriinae. The greater wax moth is the type species of this tribe and subfamily.

The adults' wingspan is 30–41 mm. This moth flies from May to October in the temperate parts of its range, such as Belgium and the Netherlands.

The caterpillar larvae, or waxworms, feed on the honeycomb inside bee nests and may become pests of apiculture. Less often, they are found in bumblebee and wasp nests, or feeding on dried figs. The larvae are commercially available. They can be used as food for the rearing of captive animals in terraria, such as geckos or predatory insects.

Vairimorpha ephestiae is a fungal parasite of the wax moth. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is also pathogenic to G. mellonella. The associations of virulence factors are the same for plant and animal infections.

When fried in oil, the larvae explode and take on a shape resembling popcorn.

The waxworms 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 thehumoral responses of the insect immune system. In genetics, they can be used to study inherited sterility.

Experiments with infected waxworms support the hypothesis that the bacterial stilbenoid 3,5-dihydroxy-4-isopropyl-trans-stilbene has antibiotic properties that help minimize competition from other microorganisms and prevents the putrefaction of the insect cadaver infected by the entomophagic nematode Heterorhabditis, itself host for the Photorhabdus bacterium.

G. mellonella is reported to be capable of hearing ultrasonic frequencies approaching 300 kHz, possibly the highest frequency sensitivity of any animal.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Potamia, 6/6/2006 by George Konstantinou