Galleria mellonella: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the galleria mellonella lives – recorded in 29 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Galleria mellonella
Group	Butterflies & moths
Found in	29 countries
Continents	Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania
Diet (main food)	beeswax
Class	Insect
Order	Lepidoptera
Family	Pyralidae

Where does the galleria mellonella live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the galleria mellonella in 29 countries and territories across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. Wikidata gives its range as: New Zealand. In Belgium, Canada, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What does a galleria mellonella eat?

Wikidata lists the main food source of the galleria mellonella as: beeswax.

What kind of animal is the galleria mellonella?

The galleria mellonella (Galleria mellonella) is an insect in the order Lepidoptera and the family Pyralidae, genus Galleria. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the galleria mellonella

Galleria mellonella, the greater wax moth or honeycomb moth, is a moth of the family Pyralidae. G. mellonella is found throughout the world. It is one of two species of wax moths, with the other being the lesser wax moth. G. mellonella eggs are laid in the spring, and they have four life stages. Males are able to generate ultrasonic sound pulses, which, along with pheromones, are used in mating. The larvae of G. mellonella are also often used as a model organism in research.

The greater wax moth is well known for its parasitization of honeybees and their hives. Because of the economic loss caused by this species, several control methods including heat treatment and chemical fumigants such as carbon dioxide have been used.

The caterpillar of G. mellonella has attracted interest for its ability to degrade polyethylene plastic.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Galleria mellonella (revision 1380577383), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q761648 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).