Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier, 1789)

Polilla de los cereales, Grain moth

This species can be separated from the other two members of the genus as follows: S. horogramma (Meyrick, 1921) described from Fiji, has the forewing with a dark brown line along the costa, interrupted subapically, another along the terminal margin, and a small spot sometimes at 2/3 medially. Sitotroga psacasta (Meyrick, 1908), described from the Transvaal, south Africa, has brown markings on the forewing as a spot or long dash submedially on the fold, a costal spot at 2/3, and a line subterminally, parallel to termen (Landry & Roque, 2010).

Pest of grains. Larva feeds on barley, corn, rice, wheat, and other Poaceae, but also on beans and peas.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Lepidoptera

Superfamily
Gelechioidea

Family
Gelechiidae

Genus
Sitotroga

Species
cerealella

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Alucita cerealella Olivier, 1789, fide Landry & Roque-Albelo (2010). Syn.: Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier), fide Landry & Roque-Albelo (2010).

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 2001

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Contaminant

Subpathway: Food contaminant

Introduced status: Human dependent

Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive

Distribution

Distribution: Santa Cruz (Roque, 2006; Landry & Roque-Albelo, 2010).

References

  • Causton, C.E. Peck, S. B., Sinclair, B. J., Roque-Albelo, L., Hodgson, C. J. & B. Landry. (2006) Alien insects: threats and implications for the conservation of the Galapagos Islands. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 99(1), 121-143.
  • Landry, B. Roque-Albelo, L. (2010) The Gelechiidae (Lepidoptera) of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, a taxonomic revision. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 117(4): 697-770.
  • Roque-Albelo, L. Landry, B. (2016) CDF Checklist of Galapagos Butterflies and Moths Charles Darwin Research Station, Puerto Ayora, Ecuador, 32 pp.
  • Roque-Albelo, L. (2006) Diversity and ecology of the Lepidoptera in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador Cardiff University (United Kingdom)

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Sitotroga cerealella", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7338. Accessed 4 June 2026.