CreatureData

Cacao moth

Ephestia elutella (Hübner, 1796)

Status not recordedbutterflies and moths

The cacao moth (Ephestia elutella) is a species in the family Pyralidae, order Lepidoptera.

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Quick facts about the cacao moth

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the cacao moth live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the cacao moth as introduced in 15 countries, and flagged as invasive in 2 of them.

  1. Netherlandsinvasive
  2. Swedeninvasive
  3. Austria
  4. Bulgaria
  5. Denmark
  6. Estonia
  7. France
  8. Germany
  9. Ireland
  10. Japan
  11. Poland
  12. Russia
  13. Slovenia
  14. United Kingdom
  15. United States

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the cacao moth endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the cacao moth classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderLepidoptera
  5. familyPyralidae
  6. genusEphestia
  7. SpeciesEphestia elutella (Hübner, 1796)

Synonyms Ephestia ablutalis, Ephestia affusella, Ephestia amarella, Ephestia angusta, Ephestia aquella, Ephestia chocolatella, Ephestia elutea, Ephestia icosiella, Ephestia infumatella, Ephestia roxburghi, Ephestia roxburghii, Ephestia roxburgii, Ephestia rufa, Ephestia semirufa, Ephestia sericarium, Ephestia uniformata, Homoeosoma affusella, Hyphantidium sericarium, Phycis elutea, Phycis rufa, Phycis semirufa, Tinea aquella, Tinea elutella

Other names and names in other languages (29)
  • Tobacco mothEnglish
  • Warehouse mothEnglish
  • zavíječ skladištníCzech
  • Gwyfyn CocoWelsh
  • HømølDanish
  • KakaomotteGerman
  • tallikoisaFinnish
  • Phycide du cacaoFrench
  • készletmolyHungarian
  • チャマダラメイガJapanese
  • Tabakinis siaurasparnis ugniukasLithuanian
  • kakaosmalmottNorwegian Bokmål
  • CacaomotDutch
  • Mklik próchniczekPolish
  • Зерновая огнёвкаRussian
  • vijačka čokoládováSlovak
  • hömottSwedish
  • Üzüm güvesiTurkish
  • Gwyfynod CocoWelsh
  • Almindeligt kakaomølDanish
  • HøhalvmølDanish
  • HøpyralideDanish
  • KakaomølDanish
  • SpeichermotteGerman
  • Teigne du cacaoFrench
  • ChocolademotDutch
  • De cacaomotDutch
  • kakaomottSwedish
  • Tütün GüvesiTurkish

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the cacao moth

Other species in the same genus Ephestia.

CompareCacao moth vs Mediterranean flour mothCacao moth vs Ephestia abnormalellaCacao moth vs Ephestia bengasiellaCacao moth vs Ephestia columbiella

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the cacao moth an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the cacao moth as invasive in 2 countries: Netherlands and Sweden. It lists it as introduced in 15 in all.

What kind of animal is the cacao moth?

The cacao moth (Ephestia elutella) belongs to the family Pyralidae in the order Lepidoptera.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Cacao moth (Ephestia elutella). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cacao-moth

MLA

“Cacao moth (Ephestia elutella).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cacao-moth.

BibTeX
@misc{cacao_moth_2026,
  title = {Cacao moth (Ephestia elutella)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cacao-moth},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}